Paranormal Breakers and the Haunted Abbey
by Lady AA-Chan
Summary: AU-Four young men investigate the haunted Abbey of Russia and its secrets, however what they will discover goes beyond communicating with the lost souls. Will they escape with their lives or succumb to the Russian spirits' desires and become lost souls?
1. Prologue: Something Strange

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Beyblade. Also, forgive me for using the some of the American version's names… I'm not too familiar with the most of the Japanese names. Any other names, I made up and are purely coincidental otherwise.

Key: "Speech", 'Thought', #Foreign speech# (I wish I could read and translate several languages, but I am unable to do so at this time, so forgive me to those who speak the language when I severely butcher the phrases with my American twang.)

Warnings (for this chapter): None. However, if you are uncomfortable with the yaoi genre, then I suggest that you do _not_ read this story.

Future couplings: Kai/Rei, Yuri/Rei, Tyson/Max, Sergei/Max. If you have an idea of a couple, please mention it to me.

**Prologue:** **Something Strange **

While seating and drinking black coffee in his rocking chair, enjoying what little early afternoon sun was out, an old man named Vadim rested and looked up at the clouded sky. He inhaled deeply and was appreciative of the extra day he was living. He looked around the beautiful Russian country side, appreciating the absence of the city life. He lived in a small cabin-like house in the country with only the "main" dirt road a fourth of a kilometer away from his home.

"What a glorious day of natural peace-"

That is, until a huge white van appeared in the distance down the main dirt road. The elderly man squinted his eyes at the vehicle coming his way, wondering why such a thing would be coming out here…

Unless… that vehicle was interested in that cursed place miles and miles down the road. He widened his eyes at the thought of being the only living person near _that_ place, reminding himself that he thought about that place at least once a day.

As the van got closer to Valdim's road, in which it branched from the main road, the vehicle started to slow down. Vadim stood from his rocker, grabbed his cane that was leaning on his peaceful home and prepared himself to greet… whoever. Surely anyone who would bring harm to an elderly man would certainly be a dreadful person. Thank goodness he was blessed with perfect vision, especially in his ancient years.

The driver, wearing a blue baseball cap, parked the van along the roadside. The old man watched the driver open the van door and step outside, stretching.

#Thank GOD we stopped! I'm really sick of driving in the middle of nowhere! There's nothing to keep me awake aside from talking to you, Maxie!#

The old man tilted his head in confusion at the name until another voice spoke: #Tyson, for crying out loud, you only drove two hours!#

Tyson, assuming that was the driver's name, turned towards his open door and spoke loudly, #Compared to your what? An hour's worth?#

Vadim showed a little smile at the beginnings of an argument when another door opened and shut; the old man assumed that was the passenger side. He widened his eyes in surprise at the blond hair and voice of young man who spoke: #Tyson, give the Chief a break. He has to monitor the activity and I don't think you're qualified to use such technology.#

Tyson made a gesture at attempting to choke "Maxie", when the van's side door slid open to reveal a young man (perhaps younger than "Maxie") wearing glasses and buttoned up in a very thick jacket. He straightened his glasses and crossed his arms at his chest. #It's so cold in Russia… can't we go back to China and study over there?#

Another young man with a long tail-'Oh,' thought Vadim, 'that's his hair.'- stepped out, dressed in a long-sleeved Oriental outfit. He turned around to shut the van door and then focused the surroundings. #It is beautiful out here when you get away from the computers, no offense Chief.#

#None taken,# said the young man with glasses.

The four young men looked around the van, not looking behind them, until "Maxie" turned around and spotted Vadim. The younger man smiled and waved to him, giving Vadim a good feeling to trust these youths. He returned the waved and watched as "Maxie's" friends turned to address him.

#Hello! Can you speak any English!# yelled the driver.

Vadim, not understanding the question because of the language barrier, held his hands up in confusion. The young man with glasses tapped the driver and said something before going to the back of the large vehicle. He returned with a small clear box and started to walk towards Vadim and his house. The youth's friends were only a few paces behind him.

As soon as he stood in front of the wooden porch, "Chief" placed the box on the steps, opening it. He pulled out a gadget which he placed on outer part of his ear and tapped it. He reached down to grasp another similar object. He walked up to Vadim and gestured to the elder how to place the contraption on his ear. After inspecting it and finding, again, no reason to suspect harm, Vadim carefully put the gadget on his ear and allowed the short youth to tap the device.

"Can you understand me now?"

Vadim was taken back by the sudden Russian language coming from this youth, who was of Asian descent. He did not have a foreign accent, but he assumed that was the device's doing.

"How are you understanding me?" Vadim asked.

"This," the youth pointed to the gadget resting on/in his ear, "is a language translator that is capable of translating my words into your foreign language and I was correct when I guessed Russian."

"Fascinating," Vadim replied, watching the other three youths grabbing their own translator and securing them. "Who are you?"

The young man who helped him with his translator bowed his head in politeness before speaking, "I'm Kenneth, or Kenny, Nakamura, but I also go by Chief. And these are my friends-"

Tyson bowed as well and spoke, "I'm Tyson Granger, sir!"

The blond smiled and also bowed before answering, "I'm Maximilian Tate, but you can call me Max!"

The last youth, Chinese from his appearance, also bowed and smiled, "I'm Rei Kon, sir. Forgive us for trespassing on your property."

Vadim smiled and nodded his head once as a greeting. "I'm Vadim Zolnerowich, the only man in this part of Russia it seems. Please, come in and rest." He turned to go inside, listening to the youths entering his home after him.

"Please, take a seat anywhere you like. May I interested you in coffee?"

"I'll take a cup, please," replied Kenny. He sat down on a couch, allowing Rei and Max to sit with him. Tyson decided to sit in a wooden chair, letting Vadim to take the more comfortable recliner.

After retrieving a cup of coffee for Kenny and cocoa for Max and Tyson, Vadim sat in the recliner and addressed the young men. "Forgive me for my curiosity, but what brings you all the way out here?"

Tyson grinned deviously and answered: "We're here to see the infamous haunted Abbey of Russia."

As Vadim almost choked on his drink, Kenny murmured: "Nicely put, Tyson."

"But you are just boys! Do you not know about that cursed place?"

"We know that decades ago," began Kenny, "perhaps before the Russian Revolutions, that an abbey was built in disguise as an orphanage, but was actually built for the purposes of training young children to be… highly destructive soldiers, so to speak."

Vadim was impressed, yet disturbed about Kenny's basic knowledge of that place. "Why would you be interested in that place?"

"Because," answered Max, "we study paranormal activity, including possible exorcism of any troubled ghosts or spirits. We've been to all sorts of placed around the world, but we haven't investigate Russia."

Vadim shook his head in disbelief. "But you all are just boys, probably no older than sixteen!"

Tyson grinned with confidence and said, "True, but actually the youngest one here is Chief who is seventeen. Me and Maxie here are almost nineteen, while Rei _is_ nineteen. But our age shouldn't matter since its our field of expertise that matters."

"Expertise or not, you all should _not_ venture to the Abbey. Many have gone there, but very few have returned and if those few return, they are not themselves. Some went mad and others… died from something unimaginable."

"How do you know about the survivors?" asked Max, not sounding rude.

"I am the only person close enough to civilization, as you notice from your drive here. The next town after the Abbey is… one hundred sixty kilometers. I am barely eighty kilometers away, but usually they would travel here, if they survive the journey, and I would contact the authorities to pick up the survivors," Vadim shivered slightly from previous memories of some survivors, "they even tried to commit suicide here."

Rei leaned forward in curiosity. "Was it because they were… possessed?"

The elder was taken back at Rei's question, but answered, "yes. I believe they were cursed with a demon, not a ghost."

Silence filled the room as well as anxiety. Kenny cleared his throat and stared at Tyson who had his head down. "Tyson, we don't have to go there… I'm sure St. Petersburg is a great source of further Russian paranormal study-"

"No," replied Tyson, looking up at the group with determination in his eyes. "I'm sure we all knew the risks of getting involved with this kind of work, but this is, by far, the most dangerous place we will ever have the honor of exploring. If we're going to go all the way with our studies, then damn it, we'll go to the Abbey."

The old man widened his eyes at this bluenet's words. "You sound very determined about going to that place. Very different from the others who happen to stop here."

Tyson bowed his head in politeness and turned to Rei, "What do you think, Rei? I don't want Lee to get pissed at me if I knowingly led his brother to death."

Rei smirked, flashing a fang. "I'm a grown man in the eyes of my village, especially in the practices of what we do."

Vadim sharply turned to Rei and asked, "what exactly _do _you practice?"

The Chinese youth glanced his attention to Vadim and shied away. "I rather not discuss it, but it involves with being a medium."

Max smiled and stood up. "Don't worry about us, Mister Zoln-Zolna-"

"Please call me Vadim."

"Mister Vadim. We all had rough encounters with ghosts and we all survived because we were there for one another," the blond walked over to Tyson and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "If it weren't for my friends, I think they would need to communicate with me through a psychic instead of in person."

The elder nodded and glanced around the room, somewhat admiring and fearing for these youths. "If you are sure. But please, come back here if you need any help with anything. Food and shelter are very hard to find, especially since the government stopped funding for the Abbey since 1997."

Tyson dropped his jaw in shock. "Th-they funded that place for eighty years!"

Vadim sipped from his coffee mug and placed it on the nearest surface. "It was a historical marker of Russia and how she came to be and it served as a tourist attraction. Well, in the 1970's, I believe, a wealthy man purchased the Abbey and use it for personal business, yet he allowed it to continue attracting tourists.

"Probably seven months from his purchasing of the Abbey, tourists started vanishing or ending up dead. As time went on, the Abbey became a fearful place and no one ever took residence there again."

The room was silent once again, except Kenny's teeth chattering-perhaps from the cold. Max and Rei looked at each other and nodded.

"I think someone purposely disturbed the troubled souls in the Abbey," suggested Rei. "Do you know who the man was that purchased the Abbey?"

Vadim relaxed in his chair and shifted through his memories for the name. Alas, he shook his head and replied, "I apologize, but I cannot recall the name at the moment."

Max nodded and smiled. "It's alright! We didn't expect this much information in one sitting. Thank you very much for your kindness." All the young men bowed their heads in gratitude once Rei and Kenny stood up from their seats.

The elder smiled and waved his hand in acceptance. The boys started to head out the door after being declined to clean up after themselves. Vadim spoke behind them as they exit his home: "You are very nice boys, but I am very uneasy about you going to the Abbey."

Tyson turned and grinned. "Don't worry about us! We'll be okay. We have some friends and family in high places that could bail us out of trouble if necessary."

Vadim reached towards the ear piece to remove it, when Kenny waved his hand. "You can keep it, just in case we do need to call you for any emergency." The Chief then explained how to contact them or vice versa.

"Thank you, young man," as the boys headed back towards their van, Vadim suddenly remembered what he wanted to ask them. "Do you have name for your group?"

Max and Rei were about to answer, when Tyson beat them to it: "We're the Paranormal Breakers!" The rest of the young men groaned at the name and continued to head towards their van.

"Paranormal Breakers, eh? You boys are very interesting-oh! I remember the wealthy gentleman's name," the youths stopped and turned their attention to Vadim.

"His name was Voltaire Hiwatari."

A shiver ran down everyone's spine, but they took it as a sudden cool breeze. Tyson nodded his head and said, "thank you for telling us everything. Can we offer you compensation for taking up your time?"

Vadim shook his head. "I don't want your money for leading you to a place of death," he said grimly. The group, again, shivered and started to get into their riding positions. Tyson climbed into the driver's seat after waving farewell to the old man.

Vadim Zolnerowich waved farewell to the young people pulling out of his property until they were out of sight on the road going towards the Abbey. "If those kids want to risk their lives to study something strange, then who am I to stop them? I just pray that they will be alright. And they were such nice young men too…"

…

With Max in the passenger seat and Rei hovering in-between them, Tyson was energized to drive the rest of the way to the Abbey. His eyes sparkled with determination, but he knew he should be fearful of this place and go with extra caution. The last time they didn't take such precautions, Kenny almost became a ghost at the haunted castle in Scotland.

"Tyson, do you think that the Abbey is okay to spend the night in?" asked Max.

"I don't see a problem," Tyson glanced to his right to see Max's worried countenance, as well as Rei's troubled one. "What do you think, Rei?"

The Chinese medium frowned a bit and shook his head slightly, while replying, "I don't think we should be spending the night there for the next couple of days unless we _really_ have to. Something tells me that that cursed place will change our lives forever."

An ominous weight settled uncomfortably on the Paranormal Breakers and remained there, even with Kenny's gasp. Rei turned around and noticed the Chief's face draining of color. "What wrong, Chief?"

"Wh-when did Vadim say that Voltaire Hiwatari bought the Abbey?"

"In the seventies, I think," answered Tyson, speaking for the others. "Why?"

"Well… after doing extensive research… according to my sources… Voltaire Hiwatari was born in 1850."

Tyson scoffed at the idea. "Seriously, Chief? It could be a name passed from one generation to the next-"

"I would like to believe that, but I followed this Hiwatari's linage and only three other members who carry that family's last name. He had an only son named Ruslan, born in 1878, who later married in 1905. His wife died from childbirth, but produced a healthy son in 1908. Ruslan died in 1910, leaving only grandfather and grandson remaining-"

"Let me get this straight, Chief," started Tyson, "Four Hiwatari's to ever exist in Russia were Voltaire, Ruslan, his wife-"

"Aiko."

"Okay, Aiko- wait a minute. That's Japanese! How…?"

"The Russo-Japanese War ended in 1905," explained Max, "I'm not surprised that she's Japanese if Ruslan fought in the war. It was common for soldiers to sleep with foreign women."

Rei raised an eyebrow on that subject as he faced Max. "True, but to marry them? That would be disrespectful to the family name, especially if the family is wealthy."

"Maybe _because_ the family's wealthy that a man could marry a foreigner."

Tyson tried to re-focus on the road, but was very interested in the history lesson. "Okay, okay. I got it… Voltaire, Ruslan, Aiko and-"

"Kai, son of Ruslan and Aiko Hiwatari."

Rei faced Kenny for more explanation. "So what happened to Voltaire and Kai if they were the only ones?"

"That's just it. After Dizzy ran through the information and sorted it correctly, Voltaire's death remains a mystery and Kai… died in 1917."

"But you said he was a healthy boy," argued Rei. "How is the possible?"

"I'm thinking it has something to do with Voltaire's involvement with the Abbey."

Max shook his head in disbelief. "That's not possible… if this is the same Voltaire, he didn't buy the Abbey until 1970-something-"

"True… but Vadim didn't know that Voltaire was the one who funded the building of the Abbey in 1904."

…

Authoress note: I hope this interests you and I do promise that there will be a point to all this madness. Please R & R and thank you for reading. Forgive me for any misleading historical dates; I will make efforts to study the past.

Future warnings: gore/violence, attempted rapes, yaoi... just a few for the moment.


	2. In A Trance

Authoress' Note: Thank you for the reviews. I greatly appreciate the comments (both criticism and praise).

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Beyblade. Also, forgive me for using the American version's names… I'm not too familiar with the most of the Japanese names. For example, I will being using Bryan, instead of Boris of the Japanese version, because the American version of Boris is Borcloff. Any other names, I made up and are purely coincidental otherwise.

Key: See previous chapter. When there are no other "foreigners" around, I will use the quotation marks ("") instead of the number signs (#).

Warnings (for this chapter): Disturbing images and language.

**Chapter One: In a Trance**

After arriving on the lonely road that leads to the haunted Abbey, the Paranormal Breakers felt anxious of their new destination; the exception to this feeling was Tyson who was always eager for any new environment. He was clutching the steering wheel in excitement, his brown eyes sparkled as he saw the Abbey coming closer into view-

"This is so awesome! I can't wait to spend the night in there!"

Max and Rei snapped their heads in shock at Tyson's enthusiasm. Kenny, shivering from cold or fear, sighed in exasperation before replying, "Tyson! Rei just said it's not safe to stay the night in there!"

"He said for a couple of _nights_, not weeks, so on day three we get to camp in the Abbey! Right Rei?"

The raven-haired teenager felt a drop of sweat form on his left temple, nevertheless he grimly smiled at the statement, "I did say that, but I also said if we really _have to_ spend the night. If a harsh blizzard comes our way, then we have to take shelter in the Abbey-"

"What's wrong with the van?" asked Kenny, not liking any ideas that refer to sleeping in the Abbey.

Max turned to the smaller boy and smiled, "Chief, you even said that the Russian winter season is almost over and it'll be spring again! That means a chance for a blizzard, especially out here, means little to nil."

"You're right! Thanks Max!-"

"Unless," said Tyson, looking at Kenny's reflection in the rear view mirror in suspense. "Something happens to the van and we have no choice but to go inside the haunted and cursed Abbey of Russia-"

"TYSON!" Kenny buried himself in his bundles of clothing, while Max and Rei glared at their leader.

"You are so cold-hearted, Tyson! Stop laughing!" exclaimed the blond.

Tyson, still trying to calm himself from laughing, looked at the trembling boy in the back. "I-I'm sorry Ch-chief! That was too funny, I-I had to scare you before we actually go into the Abbey. Once we're in there, I promise not to create suspense or put any scary ideas into your head."

"Thanks for the promise," murmured Kenny, shaking his head out of his hood. He adjusted his glasses and stared at the bricked building that was about half a kilometer away. The auburn-haired boy did not like any new haunted places, but if the Mr. Dickenson and the P.E.E.A. (Paranormal and Exorcism Examination Association) wants their brightest youth to go somewhere scary, then he'll go… regrettably.

"I still think we should go to St. Petersburg…" Kenny mumbled, getting his things ready for when Tyson parked the van.

…

As soon as he placed the van in park, Tyson killed the vehicle and jumped out, grinning at the old, old building before him. He inhaled deeply and sighed, "I love the smell of a new haunted house." He heard the passenger door open and close, then Max walking towards his right side.

"It looks… spooky," Max gulped, but still stood beside his best friend's side.

The door behind the driver's slid open and remained, revealing Rei who jumped outside. He walked and looked up at the building that was four stories high and held frosted windows. He stopped on Tyson's left side, still observing the windows. 'I don't feel anything yet,' Rei thought, 'but that doesn't mean I should leave my guard down either.-'

Rei jerked into Tyson's left arm as the Breaker's leader gave his two associates each a one-armed hug. "This is going to be the best examination ever!"

Max smiled weakly, while Rei cast his eyes downwards. Tyson let go of his less-enthusiastic victims and turned around to help Kenny and the equipment. Before he actually peered his head in the van, the bluenet addressed to Rei and Max, "check and see if the doors are locked before you come help unload."

The mentioned youths walked to the building with Max being two steps behind Rei; should any surprise attack await them from the "other side," at least Rei knows how to defend them. Stepping up two stairs with caution, Rei reached the huge door and paused before opening it. 'Something doesn't feel right-'

"Is everything okay, Rei?" asked the blond with nervousness in his eyes.

Rei nodded and smiled to bring some comfort to Max. "Everything's okay. We don't want another door to suddenly blow us away like in the States, right?" He touched the handle and pressed on its cold knob to click open. When it cracked open, Rei froze. Max froze, scared to move.

"Rei?"

The Chinese medium shook his head and gently pushed Max away from the door, as he made both of them turn to help the other Breakers. "It's nothing… I thought I saw something but I didn't," he smiled once again for Max's comfort, "I am getting old, so my eyes like to play tricks with me."

Max walked away from his friend, rolling his eyes and saying, "old my ass…"

The raven-haired teen glanced behind him to view the cracked entrance which held nothing presently. 'Maybe it was a harmless child-spirit being curious… or maybe an older one testing us…'

…

Once the group stepped into the Abbey, they glanced around the main area out of curiosity. They noticed the electric chandelier and several other lights that were presently off; only the late afternoon sunlight was providing the Abbey with dim lighting. A huge staircase stood before them as well as separated entrances to different hallways on either side of the staircase. The Abbey, from the inside, looked well furnished and safe, but that could be misleading for the Breakers.

"So… who wants to go up the stairs and further into the creepy Abbey?" facetiously asked Tyson, as he set a large silver case onto the floor. He placed his hands on his hips and grinned. "I can already feel like we accomplished something."

"Like being alive thus far?" replied Kenny, also setting another huge case on the stone floor. He adjusted his glasses and stood beside, though a bit behind, his taller associate. "I agree with Rei: we are definitely not staying the night in here."

Speaking of the Chinese medium, Rei coughed lightly into his covered bicep. Afterward, he glanced around, saying, "despite the small technological comforts, I still stand by what I said." Although the Abbey's entrails were a couple of centuries old, Vadim was correct on the government's electrical additions.

"Where _are_ the lights?" asked Max, holding two cases and looking up at the vast ceiling above them.

Kenny turned to Tyson, answering Max's question: "The lights must be connected to a switch breaker or a generator. It could be in the basement, outside…or a giant closet filled with skeletons…"

"Chief, seriously," said Tyson, giving Kenny a minor, doubtful glare, "that only happened one time in the States and it didn't even happened to you!"

"That was not funny," said Max, setting the equipment cases down. "I don't care if Eddy meant it to be a joke… if he was alive, he would know that scares like that can _seriously_ kill someone!" He shivered from the memory of being the unlucky receiver of Eddy the murdered star's pranks in a haunted gymnasium.

Tyson stifled a chuckle. "After everything was said and done, that was pretty funn-" He shut his mouth into a tight line when the blond glared at him. The bluenet faced forward and examined within his present view, avoiding the heated stare from Max. He felt a bead of sweat trickle down the left side of his face and instantaneously grabbed Kenny and a case. "I guess the Chief and me can check for the breaker! Go check out the Abbey's lower stories!"

When Kenny and Tyson disappeared, Max let out a sigh while Rei laughed at their leader's sudden departure. "I will never understand how he got everyone's respect in my village whenever he behaves like that."

Max smiled at Rei and nodded in agreement. "I wonder about that too, but there are times he proved himself worthy of respect."

"Should we follow Tyson's orders or should we help set-up?" asked Rei.

"The Chief is picky about setting up Dizzy and her accessories and besides," Max looked up the staircase, "we'll only check a couple of rooms, if there are any up there, but not in full detail. Will that be okay?"

"That's sounds good to me." Both the teenagers left the silver cases behind and ventured upstairs to the second level. Max pointed to the left and led Rei down the hallway, being thankful that a huge window gave them some light. Skipping two doors on his left, the American teen hesitated to touch the bedroom's doorknob.

"Are you okay, Max?"

"Yeah…" he chuckled nervously, "I guess I'm not as brave as I like to believe."

"You made it up the stairs and so far nothing's happened," encouraged Rei. "Daylight hours are not exactly the best time to haunt because most lost souls are weak and can't handle the light."

"Thanks, Rei," Max nodded to himself, trying to boost his self-confidence. He twisted the doorknob and pushed the door in gently, hoping that no troubled spirits were in there.

The two Breakers entered the bedroom filled two columns of eight basic twin-sized beds each covered in dust and age. Thus far, nothing or no one has appeared before them, so they believed that the room was not dangerous.

As they both filtered into the room, the blond thought he saw something under a bed, so he walked over to the second bed on his left and looked under it. Max did not mind the dust, as long as he did not make it restless, so he got on his hands and knees to investigate.

The Chinese medium walked over to the bay-like window, peering out in the empty plains of the Abbey's grounds. He continued to feel uneasy about this place, but he joined the Paranormal Breakers out of respect and curiosity, not to enhance his "skills"; if their leader wanted to study the Abbey, then Rei will follow.

"Aw," spoke Max, making Rei turn his attention to the blond. "Poor bear."

Rei chuckled at Max's sympathy. "That bear does look like it belongs in the poor house."

Max facetiously frowned at his friend's comment, "Ha ha," he looked at the bear once more, "it's just abandoned by a kid who has to give up his childhood to be a solider for Russia. I don't think it's fair."

"I don't think he gave up his childhood voluntarily, Max," replied Rei. He walked over to his friend and placed a hand on the blond's shoulder for support.

Max silently nodded in response, gently setting the bear on the dusty pillow. Max stood up from his kneeling position and looked around the other beds in sympathy. "What makes even sadder is that they were all like that: no time for games, no time to stay innocent-" The blond paused in his speech to further observe the bed in the far right corner. He stepped away from Rei, who was staring at his associate worriedly, to look closely. "Is it just me or is that bed off?"

"What do you mean 'off'?" asked Rei.

"I mean, all the other beds are evenly spaced except for this one," He studied it standing, looked under and concluded that it is in the same condition as the bed with the bear. Max turned to the Chinese medium who started walking towards Max's object of observation.

Rei examined the head and foot of the bed and got on his hands and knees to look under it. He wrinkled his nose in disgust at the thin layer of dust and adjust his head, hoping that his wrapped hair does not fall into the dust. "Maybe this was an older child's bed or a squad leader-type of child's b-"

"Look at this!"

Rei jolted his head up, almost colliding his forehead to the bed's edge. "What is it?"

Max was leaning against the wall, trying not to move. "Look at my hair."

The raven-haired youth raised an eyebrow at the blond's request. "Max, what are you doing?"

"Do you not see it moving a little? 'Cause I feel a breeze blowing it!" Truthfully, Max's blond locks moved seemingly on their on accord which astounded Rei. He placed his hand near the top of Max's head to comfort with his own touch sense.

After feeling a cool chill, Rei withdrew his hand. "You're right. There might be another room or-"

"A secret passage!" Bubbling with excitement, Max tried to push the wall space that is in disguise of a door. The shorter friend tried pushing up and in, but nothing prevailed. Rei went to the right of the wall to find a latch of some sort. He felt Max leave the door and turned just in time to stop Max from head butting the door.

"What are you doing, Max?" Rei hugged him with one-arm to stop. "That's something Tyson would try to do."

The blue-eyed youth straightened up and pouted, "it was the only thing I could think of at the time," he leaned against the wall, knowing it would budge open. "Now we'll never get to check out the secret passage."

"You don't even know if there is one," replied Rei, smiling, "it could be another room or just a small space that was built over. No reason to pout or try to push the wall," the Chinese medium started to walk away, still smiling at Max's small attempts, "it's not like you're going to fall through the wall-"

"That's it!" Max jumped up and ran ahead of Rei to block his only means of exiting the room. "What if we _could_ go through the wall and see the other side!"

Rei widened his golden eyes and shook his head, side stepping Max's blockage. "No! Absolutely not!"

Max blocked Rei again, grabbing his arms. "Why not? There's nothing here and it's just a quick peek! Plus you said the daylight hours make the ghosts weak and it's still afternoon!"

The Chinese teen bit his bottom lip, avoiding Max's begging blue eyes. "I rather not take the chance, especially considering how dangerous the Abbey is in general."

"I didn't hear Kenny scream yet, so everything's okay!"

Rei looked down at Max in disbelief. "The Chief's screaming doesn't confirm anything," Max whimpered like a lost puppy and tugged gently on Rei's sleeve. Rei looked at the wall that captivated Max's curiosity and glared at it. Once he sighed, Rei turned back to Max and nodded, "fine, you win," before the other teen jumped up in excitement, the raven-haired teen grabbed Max's upper arm.

"If something happens on the 'other side', whether a ghost or a rat comes across your path, _run_ back to your body."

"Okay!" Max grinned and removed himself from Rei's grasp. The blond walked over to the bed that was close to the wall-door and stared to lift a blanket up to shake the dust off it. "I _love_ Trances!"

Rei shook his head and mumbled, "I _dis_like Trances…"

* * *

Meanwhile, Tyson was going through the kitchen's cabinets and drawers, trying to discover something edible for him and his team to eat. He had "accidentally" distracted himself from helping Kenny locate an electrical source for the Abbey's lights. The bluenet sighed in frustration at the expired food cans and then snapped his fingers in realization.

"We can call Ol' Man Vadim so he can send us some food! Or at least gather it for us to pick up…" Tyson looked around for his shorter friend and remembered that he distracted himself from Kenny's small ranting about haunted buildings and the survival rate percentages.

"Damn it, where did he go?" Tyson poked his head out into the hallway, looking left then right, but still not finding his friend with glasses. He knew the left would lead him straight to the main area, so the right was his only option. Four doors stood further down the hall and yet the one thing that bothered Tyson the most was that Kenny has yet to scream.

"I hope nothing happened to him…" He started to walk towards the door closest to him, but suddenly a thought appeared in his mind. "Maybe if I help set up Dizzy, the Chief won't be so angry at me abandoning him! Perfect idea!"

Tyson turned around and headed back to the main area, assuming that Kenny will have electricity flowing in the Abbey soon enough. "Besides, I'll only get in the way and I doubt anything fun will happen while he's messing around with old wires…"

…

Kenny was trying desperately to hold his flashlight still as he traveled down the darkened stairs. After being separated from Tyson, comfort did not come easy for him and loneliness was taking a toll on his mentality. The auburn-haired teenager should have waited for Tyson to appear in the hallway where sunlight was still shining through the tall windows. However, he was being considerate for Max's and Rei's safety upstairs, so he ventured downstairs, which did not possess the natural lighting; so Kenny had to resort to his flashlight from the silver case he carried as he would travel further down the hallway.

"Damn you and your stomach, Tyson," complained Kenny, resisting the urge to chatter his teeth out of fear. "If I ever see you again, I _will_ sabotage your video game-what was that?"

The frightened boy quickly turned around, trying to catch what-or who-ever in the act of making him uneasy. He did not like to riled and he certainly did _not_ like being alone in this part of the haunted Abbey.

"Tyson! If that's you, I'm not afraid to plant a virus on your Halo game!"

Silence responded to Kenny, making him regret his good-hearted nature to Max and Rei. At last, he finally reached the bottom of the stairs, but that fact did not decrease his fear. He faced a three-way choice of doors to go through in order for him to work on the Abbey's electricity. He remembered the cliché scene in horror movies (thanks to Tyson's constant watching) in which a character discovers something gruesome in the last door or middle door of the three.

'I'll just avoid that scenario,' thought Kenny, as he chose the left door. He was expecting it to be locked, but after jiggling the doorknob, the door swung open. Kenny whimpered in fear and inhaled deeply.

"Lights won't get turned on themselves," he exhaled shakily and noticed the room was darker than the hallway, so he remained outside. "At least I know I sacrifice my life in order for Max and Rei to see upstairs…" The Chief whined to himself and prayed that Tyson would miraculously join him soon as he put one foot in the room and then disappeared into it.

A small cold breeze appeared in the hallway, carrying a cold voice: #Another _mishka_ to play with…#

* * *

Rei looked down at Max, the latter lying down on a now clean bed and grinning with delight. The Chinese medium shook his head and looked down at the necessary symbols he drew in the dust under the bed. After checking the preparations, golden eyes met sparkling blue.

"If a ghost appears-"

"Get back to my body."

"If a bird flies in the background-"

"Get back to my body."

"If you find out that there is more than just an extra room beyond the wall…"

"Investigate."

"Max-"

Max sighed and nodded his head impatiently, "yes, yes, run back to my body. Can I go now, Mom?"

Rei chuckled at Max's actions and nodded. "Just be careful and should something terrible happen, I'll be in-between if I have to jump into the other realm. No more than five minutes, understand?"

"Can it be ten? What if it is a secret passage? Can I just go into a couple of rooms?"

Rei sighed heavily and caved into Max's pleads. "Fine, fine, but I mean it. Ten. Minutes. No more."

Max held up a thumb up in response and closed his eyes as though he was going to sleep. Thankfully, Rei's village elders allowed Max to go along with Rei into the spirit realm when they were looking for a lost artifact in China. Max learned about going into a Trance, which meant leaving your body in the physical or Earth realm and allowing your soul travel into the spirit realm. Many dangerous events can occur when a person is in a Trance; for instance, another ghost can enter that person's body if it remains unattended. Rei would love to have a three-person arrangement for a Trance every time, but Max's insistence pressured him to abandon the extra precautions.

Rei ran his hands above Max's chest, fingers moving quickly and efficiently in certain patterns. Rei chanted just as fast his fingers moved and suddenly stopped everything above Max's heart. Once he tapped Max's heart, Rei spread his arms over Max's entire body and then sat cross-legged on the floor. He closed his own eyes and rest his palms on his knees, meditating.

"Remember, Max," spoke Rei in his relaxed position. "Ten minutes." He knew Max was out of his body when he felt a playful light breeze tousled his bangs.

'Be careful Max, or Tyson will _kill_ me…'

* * *

Downstairs where Kenny was located, someone-or something-appeared in the wall and turned its head upwards at the sudden feeling. After trying to name that suddenness, it gave up and took a form of Russian teenager with lavender locks and matching eyes that held murder. After developing his well-built form, the apparition smirked at the human inside the room. 'A weak little thing, but will be fun to torment-'

The ghost stepped out from the wall and rolled his head around as though he was loosening his neck muscles. Before he could take a step further, a ghostly hand clamped on his shoulder, pausing his actions.

The Russian sighed in annoyance and turned slightly to the hand. #What is it?#

Another Russian male stepped out from the wall, still holding onto his comrade's shoulder. He shook his head, allowing his locks to redden from the years of inactivity. His sharp cerulean eyes gazed upwards for a small moment and then addressed his friend.

#Do not slaughter this one. He may be of _some_ use to us in establishing a connection to the physical world.#

The lavender-haired Russian glowered at the other. #What for? He does not look like he is capable of anything-#

#But maybe his friends are.# The two specters looked down the hall and watched a shadowed figure step out from the last room down the hall. He shaped into a teenager with blue two-tone hair and well-built like the other two Russian ghosts. He walked smoothly with his arms crossed at his chest, keeping his eyes closed in concentration.

When he approached the pair, he opened his eyes, revealing a garnet pair of orbs. #Did you two not feel another presence enter into our domain?#

The red-haired Russian smirked and rolled his eyes. #Yes, but that does not mean anything. It could be another weakling of soul trying to escape past us.#

The other ghost shrugged off the hand and glared at the new phantom. #I am tired of destroying other souls. We have not received any live humans in some time…# His glare turned into a sadistic smile.# Besides, _Kai_, he's Japanese. Even more reason to have fun torturing this little weakling-#

Kai shoved the teen against the wall out of anger. #Do not insult me again _Bryan_,# although they may be ghosts, pain was not foreign to them. The bluenet Russian gave him another shove before he released him. He looked at the cobalt-eyed teen and spoke, #Perhaps this bunch might help us in the long-run for our return. They seem different, compared to the other idiot humans over the past decades.#

The red-haired Russian nodded and then glanced upwards. #What about that new presence? Should I investigate?#

#Sergei is already upstairs, so he should be able to look into it. Besides, Bryan _is_ right about one thing, Yuri,# the other two watched Kai smirk at the room Kenny entered. #It has been a while since we entertained ourselves with a live human.#

* * *

Max loves being in Trances for two reasons: to him, it was amazing that he was once in his jeans and blue sweater, but now, as a spirit, he was wearing a matching white tunic and loose pants; most importantly, Trances gave him a freedom beyond the physical realm. The way Rei explained it was the worldly weight of the physical realm does not tie the spirit down in this realm, thus why Max can float and bounce around easily. After floating for a bit longer before passing through the wall, the blond watched Rei relax himself by meditating. He smiled at his friend, knowing that he means well and is willing to take extra precautions for his sake. He knew that Rei disliked doing Trances without a third person, but Max was so curious about the other side!

The blond inhaled and stepped through the room, closing his eyes at the feeling of his spirit passing through a solid object. When he opened his eyes and gasped at the discovery: a stairwell and another door-like wall about ten feet away from him. He knew he should go back to Rei, but the Chinese medium did say _ten_ minutes, not _one_.

Max smiled at his reasoning and walked through the wall. Once he crossed, Max realized it was an identical room to the one he and Rei were in with a few ghastly exceptions. Although the beds mirrored the other room's, these beds each had four iron chains and shackles at their corners. Only a small rectangular yet barred window, probably about a couple of inches below the ceiling, provided any light streaming into the darken room. The blond bit his lip at the thought of small children being chained to their beds, maybe being tortured.

He turned around to leave, but something in the right corner roused his frightened curiosity. Max approached the object and held back a scream: what was once a live person, now rests a decaying piece of flesh with some of its skeletal remains exposed. Max covered his mouth to stop himself from shouting help, but he couldn't help noticing the person's attire: the clothing material was probably from the Nineties.

"Oh God…" he whispered. He stepped back and when he didn't feel himself going through the wall, Max froze. He felt another presence and its breath in his ear.

#God does not exist in this place-#

Max screamed and wanted to run away from whoever stood behind him. Unfortunately, this ghost grabbed Max's waist from behind and kept his arms pinned to his sides. Max struggled and squirmed, trying to escape. He felt the ghost chuckle and froze when a hand squeezed his thigh.

#Quit moving around, my little _mishka_, or else you'll further arouse me…# The ghost inhaled Max's scent from his blond locks and exhaled.

The smaller spirit whimpered in fear and jerked his head back, hitting the other spirit's face. He was released immediately and ran away from the other. Max touched the other side of room and-

He couldn't go through the wall. Max looked up and around the wall and found himself pushing on the wall, desperately trying to run through the solid barrier. He turned around to face his captor with wide, terrified blue eyes. "P-please don't kill me…"

The ghost stood tall and simpered at his prey. Max tried to avoid those lustful walnut-colored eyes looking down at him, but there seem to be no where else to hide from this muscular blond Russian.

#Are you not a pretty little _mishka_… You will be a wonderful plaything for me.# The taller blond laughed out loud, startling the small spirit. Max glanced quickly behind him and back at his captor, realizing that Rei was his only hope of being his savior.

* * *

Unbeknownst to Kenny, three male eyes watched his shaky attempts to rearrange and repair the electrical wires with only a few tools that he found in the silver case and so little lighting from his flashlight. The Japanese teen perspired from the thought of a small possibility of being electrocuted and from the thought of ghosts trying to kill him.

Kenny stopped to wipe the sweat from his brow and adjusted his glasses so he can see better at which wires go where. He noticed that some wires were cut and needed to be replaced, but his technological genius encouraged him to repair without more equipment.

He paused, trying to ignore the eerie feeling of being watched. He shook his head from the thought of a group of undead being right behind him and managed to drop the flashlight from his mouth. It rolled a few feet away from his current position and pointed its beaming light towards his feet.

Kenny gulped loudly and whimpered at having to move to retrieve his only source of light. He placed the wire cutters and mini-screwdriver inside the metal box and slowly made his way towards the light. The further he stepped away from the wires, the more his legs started to quake. His teeth started chattering from the fear of someone or something creeping up behind him. He paused in his steps and gulped once more before…

He suddenly turned around, expecting a half-dead person crawling to him or a grotesque phantom waiting to eat him. But there was nothing there. Kenny let out a huge sigh and picked up the flashlight.

As soon as he picked up the source of light, it beamed at a pale face with garnet eyes and blood-dripping fangs. Kenny let out a bloodcurdling scream and backed away from the apparition.

He turned to run, but the light flashed onto another ghoul with peeling flesh, showing muscle and bone, and piercing blue eyes. The human teen screamed once again and started to tear up from the frightful ghosts. He saw the doorway and ran towards his only means of escape-

#You are not going anywhere.# Another poltergeist that was pale with matching lavender eyes and hair, appeared before the doorway with a homicidal glint in his eyes and blood-splattered clothing. Kenny froze and dropped his only source of light. The specter took one step forward, while Kenny forced himself to take one step back.

His heart was pounding hard and fast from this sudden fright, threatening Kenny's lifespan to shorten. "D-d-don't hurt m-me!" The Japanese teen wanted to turn around, but two tones of laughter prevented him from running in the other direction of the blood-soaked ghoul.

There was no escape for him.

…

Tyson did not like this feeling in his stomach, and it was not from the lack of his usual early evening snack. He detangled himself from the wires of the Breaker's equipment and looked at the unorganized set-up he created. "The Chief is gonna be _so_ pissed at me… Now's the time to go looking for him!"

The bluenet abandoned the set-up attempt and quickened his pace when he heard a small domino effect of the other silver cases behind him. He went down the hallway, avoided the trip into the kitchen (it was a habit) and to the last door down the hallway. He knew Kenny would be curious enough to follow the horror-movie clichés, so Tyson touched and turned the doorknob with confidence-

Until he remembered Max making a comment some time ago about the Chief's silly superstitions of avoiding clichés; the auburn-haired youth purposely steered clear of any possible scary events. Tyson frowned at the door he chosen and turned towards the other doors.

"Where the hell are you, Chief?"

A scream startled Tyson into action, immediately opening and dashing through the other door closest to him. He went down the stairs and found himself in a darkened hallway with one door at the very far end. He took three running steps before he paused at another scream coming from the other side of the stone wall. The bluenet looked at the wall and pressed his ear against it, hearing Kenny screaming and… foreign voices? Tyson looked down the hallway, but felt an urge to go back up the stairs and try another door.

"Hang on Kenny!" Tyson lost no time running back up the stairs. He prayed the next door he chose would lead him to his friend.

* * *

Rei instantly opened his eyes, feeling anxious about Max. He counted his breaths to measure Max's time, but he paused during the sixth minute. He saw Max's body twitch at the shoulders and then stillness. Rei cannot do anything to protect Max in the spirit realm without leaving both bodies unattended.

The raven-haired youth bit his bottom lip and glanced over at the wall where Max had gone through. He sighed in frustration and began to dig in his pockets for something-

"To hell with this," Rei pulled out a sheet of paper, chanted a Chinese blessing over it and then laid it on Max's heart. He then sat on the floor to lie down and relax his limbs. In his mind was filled with worry for Max, but Rei had to slow his thoughts down into nothingness. To put himself in a Trance, Rei had to do everything backwards: he took his right hand and waved it above his head down to his toes, then quickly moved his fingers in the key positions before tapping on his heart.

His lifeless hands fell onto his chest and the spirit of Rei sat up from his body and quickly ran through the wall-door, getting angry at whoever or whatever was causing Max's screams. He noticed the stairwell to his right, but still ran to the other side-

He could not go through the wall. He looked in the corners for any visible barrier-points and became even more frustrated at Max's pleads. Rei forced himself to calm down before gathering some energy within him.

...

Meanwhile, Max dodged under the bed and then jumped over another. He quickly realized that even though he was still in his spirit form, he had living human qualities which prevented him from going through beds or walls. The Russian blond, however, could go through whatever he desired, watching the small beauty try to escape his eventual capture.

#Run, run, as fast as you can.# He chuckled and continued to walk towards Max.

'He's toying with me!' Max became angry with the Russian ghost and pivoted to the right. Before he could turn left to run to the other side of the room, the Russian caught his blond prize by the upper arm.

Max kicked and formed a fist, but the taller ghost caught his attempted punch. The Russian forced his lips upon Max's, almost bruising the blue-eyed youth's. Max formed tears in his eyes while trying to pull away from the forced kiss.

The Russian smirked and allowed Max's lips to leave his. #Hm, you taste very sweet, my pretty _mishka_-#

Before he could steal another, Max crashed his forehead into the other blond's mouth, freeing his right hand; the Russian, having learned this before, held on to Max's left upper arm and started to frown at the second hit he took.

#You are not playing nice, my _mishka_-# He turned around at a sudden presence behind him and was flown through the other wall. Max was dropped to the ground and looked up at Rei's angry cat-like eyes.

"R-rei, I'm sor-"

"Go back to your body. I'll deal with him and join you," Rei waited for the other blond to attack him, feeling Max take his hurried leave. The Chinese medium felt relieved once his friend crossed the wall. Seconds later, the other blond walked though the wall and glared at the raven-haired spirit.

#Who are you to interrupt my amusement?#

Rei glared back at the Russian and got into a fighting stance. "I don't know who the hell you are, but _no_ one messes with my friends."

* * *

Kenny held a hand to his bleeding temple, trying to pinpoint the next ghoul's attack. It did not help him that his glasses were cast off when he was flown into the wall and that his flashlight was flown out into the hallway. He whimpered at the cold breeze going through his bangs and his head being pulled back, exposing his neck.

He heard Tyson on the other side calling his name and banging on the door, but whatever happened next, Kenny lost consciousness.

Bryan, on the other hand, gripped the hair tighter, trying to get Kenny to scream again. When he let go and discovered the Japanese human had fainted, he scowled at him. #Pathetic. Did not even last ten minutes.#

Yuri and Kai, already changed from their terrifying forms into their respective clothes, looked at the door, frowning at the noise from another human. The red-haired Russian looked at the other and tilted his head towards the door. #Do you think we should let him in?#

Kai smirked and turned to Bryan, but still answering Yuri's question, #he might be a more worthy challenge, hm?#

The lavender-haired ghost smiled maniacally and licked his lips in rapture. Before they allowed the door to be open, they froze and gazed upwards. Yuri frowned at another new and seemingly stronger presence than the first. He looked at Kai, who was glaring at the ceiling.

With a raised eyebrow, Yuri sarcastically asked, #now can we investigate upstairs?#

Kai ignored the question and turned to go through the darkest corner of the room. #Come,# he commanded and the other two ghosts disappeared after him.

The door swung opened and in rushed Tyson. His eyes did not adjust to the dark quickly, so he grabbed the Chief's fallen flashlight and scanned the room. He discovered the case and some of its contents scattered and-

"Oh my God…" Tyson ran over to Kenny's stilled form, shaking him somewhat gently. "Chief! Chief! Wake up! Damn it, Kenny! WAKE UP!"

The bluenet wiped the tears forming in his eyes before leaning his ear down to Kenny's heart; he sighed in relief at finding a heartbeat. He scooped Kenny up into his arms and carried him out of the room.

As he was heading down the hallway and up the stairs, Tyson noticed that the sun was starting to set and night will soon be here. 'Rei has to help him,' he thought, looking at his unconscious friend, 'he'll know what to do.'

"REI! I NEED YOU!"

* * *

As soon as Rei and a distraught Max left the room, the stone wall became extremely cold and developed some frost in the corners. Down the secret hallway that Max discovered and into the "torture" room, the blond Russian groaned on the floor near the deceased corpse, bleeding blue. He looked at his wounds and growled at the wall the Chinese medium took his leave.

"Sergei!" The blond, Sergei, turned his head to his left and glared at Bryan, who stared at his fallen comrade with slight surprise. "What the hell happened to you?"

The blond spitted some of his blood towards the corpse before answering, "I ran into a… complication while pursuing a new toy."

Sergei turned his head away as soon as Yuri and Kai stepped through the wall. Yuri smirked at Sergei's condition and folded his arms across his chest while leaning against the wall. "Do not tell me that you actually _lost_ a battle."

Kai walked over to the wall that Rei left and inspected it. He touched the wall with a finger and watch his hand disappear through, but not his wrist. The two-tone bluenet smirked slightly and murmured, "clever medium, setting up a barrier for us not to follow."

"Shut your damn mouth, Yuri!" The blond formed a fist and sent an energy-filled punch into the floor, making it slightly concave. Still glaring at the floor, he continued, "that was no ordinary human…"

"You are quite right," replied Kai, turning to the group. "That was no ordinary human, so we should not underestimate him or his friends."

Bryan looked at Kai in disbelief. "Did you not see how that boy reacted to us? Surely his other friends are just as weak," he glanced over to Sergei and sneered, "Sergei just lost his stamina-"

"Watch your fucking mouth, Bryan-"

"Enough," spoke Yuri. "Obviously two of them can become spirits and there are more than three humans. I say we have a fun night and enjoy ourselves-"

"No."

The blue-eyed Russian specter snapped his head to Kai with small glare. "Why?"

Kai rested his back against the wall, knowing that the wall is solidified. "I will not have us rush into a prepared defense that might cost us our existence. They now know they have encountered with the damned spirits of this cursed Abbey, especially if they have a medium powerful enough to cause us to bleed."

Sergei bowed his head in disgust.

Yuri raised an eyebrow and pushed himself off of the wall. He glanced at the wall Kai was leaning on and turned to leave. "Fine, but do not think that I will not be curious enough to see this supposed 'powerful', ancient medium." He walked through the wall on that note, leaving the other three.

Bryan glanced through the small window and held an evil glint in his eyes. "It is not as though they can defeat us during the Witching Hour, but," he bowed mockingly to Kai, "whatever you wish." He too took his leave.

Sergei stood up and headed towards Bryan's exit until Kai stopped him, saying: "Do not let your pride get ahead of us. You will have your chance at revenge." The blond huffed in response and left Kai alone in the room.

The two-toned bluenet glanced disgustedly at the corpse in the corner before turning his attention to the wall. 'You, compared to your friend, will be the challenge we were looking for.' Kai flicked the wall, causing Rei's spiritual barrier to fall like broken glass and disappear. He waved towards the corpse…

And fire consumed the decayed flesh, as Kai took his leave, smirking at the idea of a worthy adversary.

* * *

Authoress Note: _Mishka_ is Russian for "mouse" (forgive me for any misspellings). Also if there are any questions, please ask and I will certainly answer them next chapter or in later chapters.


	3. Observe and Enjoy

Authoress' Note: Thank you once more for comments and forgive me for my late posting and longer Key notes.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Beyblade. Also, forgive me for using the American version's names… I'm not too familiar with most of the Japanese names. For example, I will being using Bryan, instead of Boris of the Japanese version, because the American version of Boris is Borcloff. Any other names, I made up and are purely coincidental otherwise.

Key: See previous chapter(s). I apologize, but I will change foreign language speech from (#) to (/). Please let me know if it is better on your eyes. There will be points were "foreigners" can understand one another, and that will be explain in this chapter or the next in detail. Also, there may be a tad OOC from a couple of characters. _Long paragraphs in italics will be dreams or memories._

Warnings: Language, fighting, and disturbing images.

**Chapter Two: Observe and Enjoy**

"REI! I NEED YOU!" yelled Tyson, reaching the messy area that he abandoned earlier for searching Kenny. He laid said youth on the ground, trying to be gentle with his unconscious friend. Tyson took off his own lightweight jacket and placed it under Kenny's head. He pulled out the jacket sleeve and used it to stop any more blood from spilling.

"What's wrong!" cried Rei, as he rushed down the stairs with Max following at a slower pace. Tyson looked up at fierce golden eyes that were slits and glanced to blank blue ones.

The bluenet frowned at Max's facial expression, or lack of, but focused on the more serious issue on hand. "Kenny's hurt from God knows what the hell happened downstairs and he's bleeding from his head-"

Rei removed his own long-sleeved Oriental shirt and replaced Tyson's temporary bandage. After cleaning the blood from the wound, Rei was relieved to find that it was only a minor cut on Kenny's temple. "Tyson, I need some proper bandages and bring my bag so I can create a stronger barrier and brew some chamomile tea for Max-"

Tyson whipped his head to the blond who sat near the equipment. "What's wrong with Max? Max!-" He felt Rei's hand gripping his shoulder in urgency. He made a frustrated hum from the back of his throat, but nevertheless fetched Rei's requests.

Rei started undoing Kenny's jackets and shirts to check if any bruises or cuts formed on his skin. The Chinese medium was still sensitive and very vexed from his fight with the Russian spirit, so he could not help wonder how powerful this ghost actually was. He knew that the Breakers might have difficult dealing with the Abbey's haunting spirits, but he did not know to what extent.

Golden eyes were no longer slits as Rei winced inwardly at Kenny's developing minor bruises on his arms and torso. 'He may've to see proper medical attention-"

"Rei…" spoke a soft voice.

The mentioned Breaker turned his attention to the blond youth who wrapped himself in his own arms. Max looked lost and scared, yet his blue eyes were not blank-looking like before. After covering Kenny, using the jackets as blankets, the raven-haired teen walked over to Max and crouched down beside him.

"Are you okay, Max?"

Max hesitated in nodding and bit his bottom lip before speaking: "I'm really sorry for not listening to you-"

"It's not your fault, Max," Rei laid a hand on Max's arm, offering friendly comfort. "You were trapped and couldn't make it back," he clutched his other hand into a fist while frowning at the memory, "I should have been right there-"

"I shouldn't have pressured you into putting me into a Trance… I wouldn't have-" Max stopped speaking.

Rei looked at him patiently and squeezed Max's arm for support. "You wouldn't have what, Max?"

The blond Breaker remained silent and turned his head away as though he was ashamed. Rei continued his coaxing, "What happened in there, Max?"

Max could feel the tears coming, but he did his best to hold most of his tears; two formed and fell down his cheeks. Scared at thought of forcing Max to become uncomfortable made Rei abandoned his natural, yet concerned, curiosity. "You don't have to talk about it if you're uncomfor-"

Max shook his head and started speaking, "H-he chased me around the room… he was toying w-with me… and then he… h-he kissed me-"

"HE WHAT!" Rei and Max jerked their heads towards the front door, finding Tyson about five steps inside the Abbey. Because the main area of the Abbey was so open, Max's voice carried to another concerned friend who also happened to be hot-tempered. The bluenet snapped his angry eyes to Rei, dropping the latter's bag. "What the hell happened to him!"

The blond jumped at Tyson's upset demand, but remained seated when his other friend stood and blocked him from Tyson's view. Rei took a deep breath to calm himself before his own temper matched Tyson's. He temporarily ignored Tyson's glare and fetched his bag. "Let me brew some tea for Max and I'll explain what happened."

After properly bandaging Kenny, using a portable heating plate Tyson's "traveling kitchen" kit and adding a few other herbs to relax Max, Rei watched the blond sip his tea before explaining his and Max's discovery to Tyson, who sat on the floor near Max.

"Max wanted to check out a secret passage and I gave him a few minutes to check it out. He found another room in a horrible condition than the one we were in and was… trying to get away from this Russian ghost. I made Max leave and I fought the ghost until he broke away from me. I left and set up a strong Wall to prevent him from following us."

The bluenet softened his eyes towards the blond who was starting to droop his head but remained conscious.

"Tyson," the mentioned Breaker focused on the older teen, "let's let Max sleep before we continue," Rei removed the cup from Max's hands while Tyson prepared a comfortable place for Max to lay down.

The blue-eyed teen shook his head, refusing to allow sleep to come to him. "I don't wanna sleep…"

"Maxie," started Tyson, gently pushing Max to lie down on a blanket, "you need some rest and Rei's tea will help sleep peacefully-"

"What if he comes… back?" Max closed his eyes and felt himself falling asleep.

Tyson tightly gripped the covering blanket, barely shaking with anger. "I won't let him…" Checking that Max was fast asleep, Tyson sat beside his blond friend and ran his fingers through his locks. "That bastard…"

"I think we're over in our heads, Tyson," spoke Rei, placing a white candlestick and holder inches away from Kenny's head. He lit it and walked over to Max to do the same thing. The bluenet was very fortunate that the P.E.E.A. sent his team to China where they met Rei, a very highly-trained medium for all kinds of spiritual specialties including healing and defense. Tyson had seen this sort of healing done to Rei himself when his sister Mao performed the same ritual.

After Rei said a prayer for Kenny and Max, he gazed at Tyson with patient golden eyes. "What happened down there?"

Tyson shrugged and avoided looking at the raven-haired medium in the eye, "I got distracted from Kenny and he went downstairs to find the electrical switch," since Tyson was not looking at him, Rei continued to his next necessity: setting up a blood barrier. "By the time I found him, he was bleeding from his head and unconscious."

"Do you know what they looked like?" When Rei didn't hear an answer, he glanced over to Tyson who was shaking his head in a negative response.

"No, but I thought I heard their voices. They were all speaking Russian, I think-"

"They?" Rei paused in placing a small, smooth stone on the floor.

Tyson nodded and said, "I know for sure I heard two."

The Chinese medium shook his head at the new information and pricked his thumb. He let one small amount of blood develop and smeared it onto the stone and moved to another area for another stone. "This is not good. If those spirits are that powerful enough to come out before the Witching Hour, then we might be in serious trouble."

"We shouldn't have come here," Tyson whispered, gritting his teeth in frustration. "But it was the one chance that we-" He paused when Rei rested a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to Rei moving his eyes to check the main area.

When he was certain that nothing was there, Rei looked down at his friend with concern. "I know, Tyson. But you have to think about the consequences-"

Tyson turned his head away, clutching his hands into fists. "But we knew what they were! Just like you knew the consequences of putting others into Trances! Max could've been hurt or worse, raped…" The bluenet stopped speaking and avoided looking at Rei. After jeopardizing his two of his best friends' lives, Tyson could not say anything to the remaining friend. "I'll go get Kenny's stuff before the sun completely sets on us."

The Chinese medium nodded in response, but did not glance towards Tyson's leaving. He knew that his leader was very concerned for his team and that the mentioned leader felt somewhat responsible for Max's situation. Rei looked to the window which was revealing a beautiful Russian sunset. People should not remain angry after the sun set, but Rei thought it best to leave Tyson alone until they can talk once more tonight. He needed Tyson to at least stay up for a few hours before the Witching Hour, which lasts from midnight to three in the morning, in order for Rei to watch over Kenny in the spirit realm.

"For what it's worth, I'm very sorry, Tyson," whispered Rei, before completing a retangular-shaped border that included Max's and Kenny's sleeping forms. He moved his fingers once again in different patterns (not necessarily the same ones as conducting Trances) to bless the bleeding stones and connect the four points.

The raven-haired teen did not know how long his barrier might last in the night, but he had a very eerie feeling that whoever these phantoms were, they were not going to kill the Paranormal Breakers… yet.

…

Meanwhile, Tyson grumbled to himself, trying to lower his pride so he can apologize to Rei. He knew what he said was way out of bounds and uncalled for, especially just admitting to his friend that he got distracted away from Kenny; however he was just angry with himself for allowing Max to get hurt.

However, no matter how angry he got, Tyson still felt an eerie feeling that told him not to venture further down the hallway. The bluenet paused in his walking and realized that the sun was almost gone and night was underway. He glared at the casting shadows in the hallway and turned to leave, following his inner instincts.

From the shadows, a pair of eyes glared at the retreating Breaker…

Tyson reappeared from the hallway, staring at the sleeping blond being tended by Rei. He walked over to Rei and as he got closer, he found the ground more interesting than Rei's healing ritual. He inhaled deeply and looked at his conscious friend who paused in his actions to pay attention to Tyson.

"Rei… I'm sorry about yelling at you. I was just… very worried…"

"I know, Tyson," Rei nodded and smirked a little, "I would be worried if my crush got hurt too."

Tyson blushed deeply and turned his head to the side to cough. "I would appreciate it if you didn't say that so loud where Max could hear."

Rei chuckled and nodded. "Okay, okay, but I should just tell him after he wakes-"

"You wouldn't!"

"Is that a challenge?"

Tyson glared at Rei and crossed his arms above his chest, turning his head away stubbornly. "I didn't say that…"

Rei laughed and glanced to the windows. His countenance turned serious and focused on Kenny's resting form. Tyson, too, turned serious and lifted his head towards the youngest member of the Breakers. "How's he doing?"

"He might need some serious medical attention, but I'm going to try and heal him in the spirit realm while he dreams. I don't know if his bruises are serious, but I can at least stop them from developing."

Tyson nodded in approval and looked outside to view Russia's redden sky. He turned back to Rei and asked, "do you need me to be in a Trance with you or stay awake?"

"Probably stay awake... on second thought, as soon as I look at the Chief, we can take a look around the second level," nodding towards the staircase in the main area. "especially before the Witching Hour. Where are the Chief's things?"

Tyson nodded, took a seat near Max within the inactive barrier, and glanced back to the hallway from which he came from. "I felt something weird down there, but I'll go get the Chief's stuff before we look at the second level. What changed your mind on letting me tag along in a Trance?"

"I have a hunch that if the ghosts wanted us dead, we would already be spirits ourselves. I don't think our unconscious bodies will be a threat to them." They both stared at their sleeping friends, praying that all will end well come morning.

Tyson stood up and stretched, loosening his joints and popping his knuckles. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's do this!"

Rei smiled and nodded, moving closer to Tyson as the latter laid down next to the blond. The bluenet faced Max and let his hand caress the other's cheek. "I'll always be here for you, Maxie…" The bluenet closed his eyes and let his hands rest on his chest as the Chinese medium got ready to perform the Trance ritual.

Soon, he felt his spirit rise from his body and let himself float a couple of inches off the ground. He blew his bangs in frustration at his blue ball cap facing forward; every time he goes into a Trance, his hat faced forward. Tyson was comfortable with "pajama" blue pants and white tee-shirt, but it irked him sometimes that his hat was never worn backwards.

Fixing his hat for the bill to face backwards, Tyson watched Rei lay down and got himself into a Trance, grinning at the spirit form of Rei, who wore a green sleeveless Oriental shirt and white loose pants. The other rolled his eyes at the simple amusement of his friend, and pointed to Max.

"Put your head on his forehead and think of good things for both of you; it'll help Max suppress his encounter with that ghost." Tyson nodded once and instantly thought of a good memory of him and Max having fun, away from the P.E.E.A's demanding work.

Rei smiled at Tyson conducting a Communal Dream, in which a spirit can permeate into someone's dreams and have a minimal or maximum affect on said person's dreams. The Chinese medium turned his attention to Kenny before he inhaled and exhaled slowly. He rubbed his hands together gently, gathering an amount of his life energy. This energy connects to his actual life and can be used for defenses (a blood barrier, for example) and healing. Although the energy he used to fight the blond Russian comes from within his spirit may seem unlimited, it will eventually take a toll on the spirit and force it to fade into non-existence; only rest from such usage can let the spirit exist. The raven-haired medium glanced over to Max, giving him a sad smile. Only the blond knows about Rei's fading life and made him swore not to tell the others.

Turning back to the task at hand, Rei placed his hands on Kenny's abdomen and chest and concentrated on soothing the internal bruising. He felt the younger squirm at the dull pain, but continued to sleep. Rei made his energy weave through damaged tissues and veins, mending them delicately until they were good as new.

Once he was finished, Rei smiled atthe thought of no longer taking Kenny to a hospital. He glanced over to Tyson who had his eyes closed and smiling at the Dream. Rei asked, "what memory are you sharing?"

The other was startled by a sudden voice, but quickly recovered. He opened his eyes and looked down at Max who wore a smile in his dreams. "It was maybe a year ago, before we met you, and I dragged him to a park to get away from P.E.E.A. We tried skating and it was fun trying to race each other, but I ended up skating backwards and holding his hands, guiding him."

"That sounds like fun," complimented Rei, still smiling.

Tyson nodded. "It was fun, even when he stumbled over something and he fell into my arms. No matter what happened, I want Max to know that I will always be there." He turned to Rei, breaking away from his own trance at his sleeping friend. "Does he know that?"

"Always, Tyson."

The bluenet nodded, stared once more at Max before caressing his cheek before standing up. He inhaled deeply and looked at Rei with determined eyes.

"I'm ready to exorcise some Russian bastards!"

…

While Tyson and Rei were sorting through cases of equipment, they were unaware of two sets of eyes that suddenly appeared to watch them, followed by their respective "bodies". Each poltergeist present was wearing black uniform pants with green Revolution jackets, but each had a different color undershirt. One of the ghosts, wearing a coral red undershirt and having lavender eyes, glared at the two new spirits in the main area of the Abbey.

/They are just as pathetic as the others…/ replied Bryan, crossing his arms above his chest. /We should just kill them and torture their souls into non-existence./

Yuri, on the other hand, wore his jacket over his shoulders and rested his arms on the second story's handrail, watching the two below sift through pieces of technological equipment. He recognized heat-sensory cameras, but the others were unfamiliar to him. /At least they are blessed with advanced technology, unlike the last bunch./

Bryan nodded towards the one wearing a hat and sneered, /he does not look like much of a psychic./

Yuri slightly widened his cobalt eyes at the other spirit with long hair. /They are both young, but I will wager the Chinese one is the actual medium. To think he was the one to defeat Sergei in that skirmish./

/That idiot needs to stop pursuing new mortals to play with,/ Bryan turned to associate and raised an eyebrow at Yuri's constant watching, /and you need another hobby than just watching…/

/Just as you need to control your bloodlust, my friend,/ Yuri smirked when he heard the lilac-haired Russian grunted in response.

/I am going to check on Kai and Sergei in the Yard. Try not to cause too much trouble watching them, Yuri./ Upon that statement, Bryan left through the walls, leaving Yuri to watch the other spirits. The red-haired Russian straightened up and put on his uniform jacket, his eyes never leaving the spirit with bright-colored ('perhaps gold?') eyes.

/Perhaps I do not need to watch any longer…/ Yuri brushed his white undershirt of invisible lint and faded into the shadow's behind him.

…

Rei set the cameras down and glanced over his left shoulder before turning his body towards the second story. When he found no one, he debated on walking up the stairs to see if another ghost was present. He scrunched his nose at the thought of a ghost camouflaging his presence, disliking the idea.

"Hey Rei, I think we should get Kenny's stuff before we forget," Tyson clamped his hand on his friend shoulder and looked up at the handrail.

The raven-haired teen smirked and eyed Tyson with disbelief. "You mean before _you_ forget, Tyson."

The other laughed nervously, and floated away from Rei. "You caught me! I'll do that right now and you could go upstairs and check it out." Tyson, floating once again a few inches off the ground, glided away from Rei, who continued to look at the second story.

'Maybe there is someone up there,' thought Rei, as he felt himself rising his feet off the ground to float slowly towards the staircase. He placed his feet on the first step and his hand on the banister. Moving his eyes across the second story with caution, he made his way up the stairs. When he reached the top, he glanced left, then right and stopped at his left. He was hesitant to move in that direction, but he went against his instincts and went right.

Passing a door on his left, he glanced back behind him and remained still, waiting for something to suddenly appear behind him. He turned his body to face towards the staircase and took two steps forward. He peered down the stairs and found no one in the main area. Somewhat satisfied at the absence, he turned around-

And bumped into a "solid" chest. He raised his hands up in defense or to push himself away from whoever, the other ghost grabbed his wrist before any damage was to be inflicted. Rei gasped upon staring into cobalt eyes. The golden-eyed spirit instinctively took a step back and pulled his wrists away from the grip.

As Rei stared at the ghost in the Russian Revolution uniform, he asked, "who are you?"

The other ghost smirked and took a step closer to Rei, observing him from head to toe and back. "I do believe you are the foreigner in my place of residence," the ghost replied with a smooth tone and noticeable Russian accent, "so I am entitled to ask questions."

"How are you understanding me?"

The ghost with flaming red hair took a step to the left to circle the Chinese medium and observe him from a more closer range. Rei, however, did not trust this ghost's intentions and faced him, getting his hands ready for a defensive encounter.

"I chose to speak to you," despite Rei's lack of cooperation, the Russian phantom circled his prey and nodded approvingly, "and you are called Rei, are you not?"

Rei scowled at the other while stepping away from this ghost. "You know my name?"

"I cannot help but overhear you and your friend talking," the ghost allowed Rei to step away from him. "Your friend, I believe 'Tyson', mentioned your name."

The Chinese spirit continued to glare at the Russian phantom. "You still didn't tell me who you are."

"Interesting power that names provide," the ghost turned away from Rei and walked down the darkened hallway. He paused and turned his head sidewards to continue speaking. "Do you know of our powers during the Witching Hour?"

"Yes, and I'm not going to be here during that time."

Facing Rei once more but with further distance, the ghost smirked, "You mean that you _plan_ not to be here, but even your barrier will not match against us," in the blink of an eye, the ghost vanished.

The Chinese medium jumped at the sudden disappearance, but turned around in preparation for another scare. Just as Rei turned around-

The ghost was inches away from the back of his head as the Russian whispered, "_Krasivaya_…"

Rei whipped his body around while jumping away from the other ghost. "What do you want from us?"

The phantom chuckled at the response and shrugged his shoulders in response, "most ghosts want only to cause mischief to mortals, but for us… well, I cannot discuss that, however-" he vanished once more.

This time, Rei stood still and closed his eyes, hoping to sense the ghost's next appearance. He turned his head to the right and opened his eyes, refusing to jump at the sight of cobalt orbs. "'However' what?" asked Rei in annoyance.

"However, I have not had much fun in these passing decades," the red-haired ghost lifted his hand to touch Rei's arm, but the latter quickly moved it from his grasp. The Russian shrugged and smirked, "perhaps you will provide me with such entertainment."

* * *

In the meantime, Tyson reached the room and looked around it with as much caution as he can muster. Although it turned into a dark evening, the nighttime actually provide spirits more "light" to see clearly than a normal human mortal. The bluenet squinted his eyes at the suspicious corners located in the back of the room. Still watching the corners, Tyson reached down to pick up Kenny's case and backed out of the room.

As soon as he left the room, he started to head back until he remembered the absence of Kenny's glasses. Cursing himself, he placed the case beside the wall and entered the room-

/Get out…/

Tyson jumped at the rough voice and looked at the middle of room, firstly noticing blond hair and then the ghost's height which was covered with a bloody military uniform. The bluenet glared at the ghost in the middle of the room and challenged him, "Sounds like you don't like me…"

/Get out!/

Standing his ground and getting into a defensive fighting position, Tyson shook his head. "Yeah, you definitely don't like me and you're not exactly my favorite person either, Blondie."

Smirking at this spirit's foolishness, the blond ghost flexed his fingers into fists. "I see you do not heed my warning to leave."

"Maybe if you said it nicely, I would."

The Russian phantom stopped smirking and put on a menacing countenance. "You may not be my _mishka_, but I will put you into submission."

"I don't know who the hell's Meesh-kah, but _I'm_ not scared of you."

/You will be./ With that, he disappeared, not leaving a trace. Tyson widened his eyes at the sudden disappearance and turned his body, trying to prepare for an unexpected attack. He located something shiny in the middle of the room-

'Kenny's glasses!' Tyson rushed to them, but was suddenly flown out of the room with his back hitting the wall. Pain surged through his back, as the bluenet coughed, trying to get his breathing under control. He looked up and saw dark-colored piercing gaze before it vanished again.

'Shit! Where is this bastard!' Tyson stood and whirled his right fist behind him, hitting the blond ghost.

The ghost flew to the wall and remained there, getting over the shock of this new mortal-spirit's hit. The blond Russian felt his blood run from his lip and snapped his glare to the bluenet who was arrogantly smirking at him.

"Well, Blondie, looks like I'm one up on you-"

Without warning, the blond lunged for Tyson's middle, making contact and pushed him back into the room. When he felt the other's back collide with the wall, he stood and punched the bluenet in the stomach. As Tyson sagged to the ground, trying to once again gain his breathing, the blond sneered down at the panting spirit.

"You will do well as not to mock me, Sergei, foolish mortal. Learn your place before me."

"F-Fuck you… Blondie…" panted Tyson, eyeing the Russian phantom with a deadly glare.

/Then you will die./ Sergei raised his leg to kick the fallen spirit, when Tyson moved out of range. He grabbed the Russian's leg and managed to bring his foot into the other's torso. The Russian grunted and glided away from Tyson, separating himself from the spirit. Glancing at the entrance to the room, Sergei smirked.

As he was stepping backwards towards the entrance, the phantom spoke: "Enjoy your time alone, while I find your meaningless body to destroy," he clasped his hands and brought them apart, touching each side of the entrance's wall. Tyson did not see what the Sergei was doing until he went after him-

He collided with something solid. He pounded his fist on an invisible Wall which rippled the other side. "Damn you! Get back here and fight like a man, bastard!"

"By the by," taunted Sergei, "have you seen my _mishka_? Small in stature, but pretty blue eyes-" He paused at the sudden angry reaction from the spirit inside the room.

"DON'T you _fucking touch_ him, you fucking bastard!"

Sergei glared at the other's demand. "Do not tell me what I can and cannot do… but if he interests you that much, I will convince you otherwise that you can no longer have him." Chuckling darkly, the Russian poltergeist took his leave. Tyson cursed and banged on the Wall-shield, his fear for Max increasing as the ghost stepped away from him.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kai stood before the night-fallen Yard. He inhaled out of habit and peered at the soil stretching acres and acres it seems. Every night for nearly a century, the two-toned bluenet had to contain the restless souls of the Abbey and her victims she had acquired because of him and his fellow associates. Once in a while a couple of souls escape the Abbey's ground and last for a few hours before fading into non-existence; the Abbey is the life source of all souls who have passed away. The Russian ghosts needs to keep many souls for-

Kai turned his head sidewards, acknowledging Bryan who approached him. Once Bryan was close enough, the garnet-eyed specter faced the Yard, feeling restless souls starting to wake. /Have you discovered who the medium is?/

Bryan nodded and sneered at a deformed, yet ghostly hand emerging from the ground. /Yes, a Chinese boy./

Kai turned to his associate and raised an eyebrow in disbelief. /Sergei was defeated by a mere child?/

The ghost chuckled at the thought and walked over to the hand which was peeling "flesh," /Compared to us, yes a child, but only a boy of probably eighteen. Though I will admit,/ Bryan crushed the hand with his boot, grinning manically at the buried soul's screaming from pain. While he was grounding the hand, he continued to speak:

/He is quite powerful… and a decent-looking medium./

Kai rolled his eyes at the statement and glanced back to the Abbey. Giving the building a death glare, Kai faced his associate. /Where is Yuri?/

/He was observing the two mortals in spirit form-/

/What do you mean "spirit" form?/

Bryan explained with irritation dripping in his tone: /They are not in their bodies. Their spirits are among us in this realm./

/Interesting…/ Kai turned to walk away from Bryan, leaving his associate to his future entertainment with the souls. The lilac-haired ghost glanced back at Kai before torturing more of the dead.

/Where are you going?/

/I am going to see what souls I can gather and perhaps investigate these new spirits. Maybe convince the medium to join us,/ Kai indifferently waved his hand in the air and continued to walk. /I will send Yuri to help you./

Bryan scoffed at the other phantom's response and caught a soul running from his peripheral vision. His annoyance turned into a freakish grin, waiting for the ghost to be further away before pursuing the escaped soul.

* * *

Sergei smirked darkly as he stalked towards four unconscious bodies, particularly the smaller blond. He eyed the bluenet's body, sending a deadly glare towards him. Nevertheless, he stopped just a foot away from the sleeping blond, dementedly admiring the serene look on his _mishka_'s face. Reaching out to touch that smooth cheek, Sergei's-

Hand collided with something solid yet shocking at the same time. Although he earned a minor burn on his hand (he immediately pulled away upon contact), it did not stop him from wanting to touch the blond mortal. Sergei looked around on the floor and glared at the four stones that were carefully placed in rectangular pattern, surrounding the resting humans.

/Damn psychic,/ he cursed, crouching on one knee to inspect the small object that kept him away from his prey. He growled in a low volume and stood to walk around the barrier. Unfortunately, he could not find a weak spot, causing Sergei to curse loudly-

/What are you yelling about?/

The blond turned his head and glared at the approaching Kai. The latter gazed back at Sergei with indifference, stopping a couple feet of distance. Kai looked at the unconscious blond and the stone near him before gazing at his associate. /You are yelling for what purpose, Sergei?/

/This cursed medium established a strong barrier that is keeping me away from my _mishka_…/ Sergei pointed to the sleeping blond, careful to avoid touching the barrier once more.

/You are acting like a child, throwing a temper tantrum…/ Not bothering to observe the other mortals, Kai inspected the stone and smirked at the blood smeared on it. /Clever medium to use his native land and his blood as protective means./

/What do you mean?/

Like Bryan, the other Russian rolled his eyes and explained with a hint of annoyance: /If a psychic knows his heritage and embraces natural elements, both physical and spiritual, he can use his homeland to his advantage. This medium, for instance, brought stones from China to place them as a foundation for this barrier. His blood, presumably laced with spiritual energy, establishes a thicker defense./

Sergei clutched his fists, resisting the urge to punch the barrier. He stared at the unconscious Chinese youth who was laying the furthest away from the group. /Damn him./

/No matter,/ Kai walked over to the stone and touched it with his foot, making the stone flip onto its other side. /If there are only three active stones, then those three will only connect,/ the Russian bluenet nodded towards the smaller blond and turned to take his leave, saying, /enjoy./

The Russian phantom was not concerning himself with Kai's mysterious way of breaking the barrier. If he would take the time to observe, he would notice that the rectangular pattern converted in a triangular one, still protecting the other three mortals (Rei, Kenny and Tyson).

However, Sergei was more focused on the unprotected blond. He widen his eyes in a sickening delightful manner, lightly licking his thin lips as though he was getting prepared for a main dinner dish. His mind was thinking of the possible activities he could do the younger blond, but thought of a better, more "civil" game to play…

* * *

"Well this is an interesting game of Hide 'N' Seek," replied Yuri, peering his head through the wall and stepping into a room. He smirked, checking around the room for any foreign traces. He glanced upwards to investigate the ceiling, wondering where else he could possibly check for Rei.

"On a normal night, _kotyonok_, I would be frustrated at this game and would flush you out," continued Yuri, stepping back into the hallway and peering the down the opposite end. Earlier, the red-haired Russian allowed Rei to run and hide from him, all for Yuri's amusement. He caught the raven-haired teen slipping through a room but as soon as Yuri walked through, Rei dropped through the floor and hid extremely well.

"So far, you are not trying my patience and I commend you, _Rei_…"

Yuri hummed quietly to himself at the sound of the name on his tongue. /Your name is starting to become an addiction, _Rei_…/ He paused before a door and smirked at the feeling of being close to buried treasure.

Rei, on the other hand, felt very anxious and tried with much difficulty to calm himself. He did not find amusement in hiding from this Russian ghost nor did he take pleasure in wanting to be found; in fact, Rei was trying to make his way towards Tyson on the bottom floor. But every time Rei made an attempt to sink down another lever, the poltergeist would be there as though expecting him to fall below!

'C'mon, go to another room,' Rei pleaded. He knew the ghost was on the other side of him and he also knew that this Russian ghost was toying with him! That was making Rei become more frustrated every time the red-head would get near him.

It was only a matter of time before he was caught-

/Yuri./

Rei's attention focused briefly on the new voice; it was smoother than his pursuer's and somehow laced with an indifferent tone that made Rei shiver. He heard Yuri ('that's who's chasing me' thought Rei) the "seeker" reply:

"Yes?"

/What the hell are you doing?/ Rei can hear the annoyed tone, but unintentionally frowned at this ghost's Russian speech.

"I am trying to find this interesting _kotyonok_ that I recently have discovered-"

Rei heard a frustrated sigh and surprisingly, whether it was out of involuntary courtesy or to humor his associate, the new ghost replied in the language Rei can understand: "Between Sergei's mouse and your kitten, I am getting annoyed with all these pets."

The Chinese medium bristled at the meaning of Yuri's pet name for him and slightly shivered when Yuri chuckled. He bit his bottom lip in nervousness, hoping neither ghost would avoid finding him.

/He's _krasivaya_-/

"I do not care. Go assist Bryan in the Yard. Because of these new arrival of mortals, I suspect that we will have a glorious time keeping those souls under our control."

"… as you wish." Rei assumed Yuri left and sighed with relief that the ghosts had left-

He felt a sharp tug in the back of his skull, his arms instinctively going to the source of his pain: a hand pulling harshly on his wrapped hair at the base of his head. Rei wanted to run, but in order to relieve some of the pain, he went towards the hand and was pulled through the wall and into the hallway-

"So you there you are, medium."

* * *

_Dream_

_Max smiled as he sat down on a park bench, watching Tyson skate away from him. He looked around the park, seeing couples and families and friends enjoying themselves. He giggled to himself at the fun day he was having and glanced over to his friend getting tasty ice cream for both of them. The blond grinned wider and rested his head on the back part of the bench. He closed his eyes, enjoying the sun's rays-_

_It felt slightly cooler to him. Max thought about a cloud passing the sun, but when the "cloud" did not fade away, he opened his eyes._

_He gasped at the sudden appearance of nightfall and quickly brought his vision from the night to the scene before him. The trees were decayed and fungi was over every stone, while a shadowy mist covered the ground. He stifled a scream as he now watched dead couples fighting with one another, families devouring other people and friends wondering around; they have all become the walking dead._

_Max turned to scream for Tyson, but neither his friend nor the ice cream booth was in sight. He whimpered and started to hyperventilate-_

_"Beautiful night, is it not?"_

_The blond whipped his head to the voice sitting next to him and immediately stood to get away from that voice._

_"N-no…" Max took another step backwards (his skates disappeared) to create some distance away the Russian. "Y-you're not here…"_

_"Oh, but I am and I look forward to spending my evening with you…" As soon as Sergei stood up, Max ran as fast as he can within his dreams. He ignored the walking dead and all the other horrors; his true nightmare was behind him and was out to get him..._

Meanwhile, Kenny groaned in his sleep and began to wake from his unconsciousness. He winced at the slight pain in his torso and removed the blankets to check out his injuries. When he looked down, Kenny noticed his stomach's diminishing bruises. He raised a hand to his temple and found it neatly bandaged, smiling at Rei's care. Realizing his glasses were not with him, he glanced over with a blurred vision and noticed the guys still sleeping and something blond over-

Kenny braced himself and tried not to scream. He hurriedly covered his mouth to prevent any screams coming, praying that he already did not catch the attention of the ghost hovering over Max.

Speaking of whom, his friend was squirming his dreams, whimpering in fear. Kenny gulped at the ghost, but found a significant amount of courage to try to do something to help Max. Without his glasses, Kenny started to go through unpack equipment, minding Rei's stones, to look found one precious piece of technology that might rescue Max.

'Hang on, Max! I'm coming!'

* * *

Rei felt himself not being able to breathe at the sight of ruby-colored eyes peering into his golden orbs. He still clasped onto the strong hands gripping his hair, but never removing his eyes away from the other pair of eyes. He cried out when the Russian tugged his hair, breaking the gaze and allowing the ghost to observe Rei's face and neck.

"So you are this supposed medium that is able to make us bleed."

Rei winced at the increasing pain in the back of skull, but did not reply.

The Russian peered down to further look at Rei's physique. "I can see that I should no longer refer to you as a child."

The Chinese medium, despite the pain, jerked his head away from the ghost and freed himself when the pull caught the phantom off guard. Creating a few feet of distance, Rei floated away from the Russian, involuntarily gasping at the full view. This ghost wore the same uniform as Yuri without the jacket and wearing a black shirt. His hair was two opposite shades of blue, contrasting to his garnet eyes.

From Kai's point of view, this Chinese medium possessed an amount of spiritual strength that Kai could not quite fathom. Aside from this attraction to power, the Russian realized that this youth was indeed beautiful ('too beautiful to be a boy' thought Kai): ebony hair hidden in a wrap that swung past his knees, sharp features in contrast to his soft golden eyes. Judging by the clothes he wore, this youth was not at all lanky, but certainly not larger then Kai in muscular strength.

Not realizing he was an object of study, Rei prepared himself for a defensive attack. Once he moved into his stance, the Russian paid attention to what was happening. He smirked at Rei's position and folded his arms across his chest.

"Do you really believe that you will bring me harm?"

"If I can make your friend bleed, then yes."

The Russian chuckled, but did not move from his stance. "You are amusing; I can see why Yuri developed an interest in you."

"And you aren't?" Rei kicked himself in the head for not holding his tongue, nevertheless he did not show outward on his outburst.

"Oh, I will become interested in you," begun Kai, walking towards Rei, only to stop a foot away from him. "You are intriguing and you might be of some use to us…"

The black-haired spirit glared at the Russian and lifted his chin in defiance. "And if I refuse to help you?"

"Then you will no longer need to worry about your friends-"

A high-pitched scream echoed in the Abbey's main area and carried to the two upstairs. Rei whipped his head towards the stairs, momentarily forgetting about the Russian specter. He turned back around-

He stood only a breath's distance away from the Russian. Rei slightly gasped as the ghost whispered: "Or your life."

* * *

Translations (correct me if I am wrong): _Mishka_: mouse… _Krasivaya_: beautiful… _Kotyonok_: kitten.

Authoress Note: Review if you wish (I would certainly appreciate it) and enjoy the rest of your readings on ! Any questions about the story, please ask and I will answer them next chapter.


	4. What If

Authoress' Note: Thank you for the reviews, both critical and praising.

Disclaimer: See previous chapter.

Key: Refer to previous chapter (s).

Warnings: Language and disturbing images.

**Chapter Three: What If **

Tyson tired himself from trying to ram into Sergei's created Wall with his shoulders, as he rested on one bended knee. He panted as he rested, previously feeling his stamina fading with each try. He glared at the ground, becoming angrier at the situation he was in and the predicament Max might be facing. He formed a fist with his right hand and punched into the ground. "Damn it!"

The Breaker heatedly stared at the Wall, wondering how to dismantle it. Tyson knew no energy tricks like Rei, but he did have physical strength to his advantage. Refusing to give up, Tyson stood up and walked backwards to the opposite side of the Wall, allowing his hand to touch the cool shadow-

His hand went through the stone wall. The bluenet looked at this phenomenon with awe and then awe turned into triumph. Although he knew he should be suspicious about this sudden discovery, he would not question the seemingly only way of escaping. Not knowing where this discovery might take him, he did not care; all he was concerned about was Max's safety, along with Kenny's. He charged into the shadow-

And came into a _very_ dark room. "Oh great…" muttered Tyson, turning back to the wall he came from. However that wall did not allow him to go back. He slammed his fists once in frustration and started to feel along the wall for a door or another shadow-portal for him to exit.

'Max… Chief… I'm coming back for you… Rei, I hope you're doing alright…'

* * *

Yuri turned his head towards the Abbey, distracting himself from Bryan's torturing of an escaped soul. The red-haired phantom frowned at the foreign presence that entered through the shadows, but ignored it; only a ghost who is strong enough could master the darkness' labyrinth with ease and _not_ get lost. He turned his attention back to Bryan, who was stepping on the soul of a teenage girl from the World War Two era and finding pleasure in hearing her spinal cord snapping.

He shook his head and sighed impatiently, /do you not get tired of the same method of tortures?/

Bryan glared at his friend before stomping on the girl's neck, silencing her pleading screams. The soul faded into non-existence, yet the Russian did not seem phased at his action. /It helps for me to be amused while we are trapped in this realm./

Yuri rolled his eyes and settled himself to sit on thin air, floating a couple of feet. He placed his left ankle on his right knee, while leaning back and crossing his arms. /Would you not rather be amused at torturing _living_ souls, not ones bound to this cursed place?/

The lavender-haired ghost lifted his chin in interest. /We are bound as well, Yuri. You are speaking nonsense-/

/What if we could find a way to stay connected _and_ venture into the physical world? Certainly this… organization can lead us to finding a way out of this place./

/You talk of rubbish,/ Bryan swept his arm out to the Abbey's acres, emphasizing his point. /This land is full of souls we collected in the century that we were put here. Surely, no one would be stupid enough to successfully exorcise this place and free _thousands_ of souls gathered here./

/What if-/

/Do not mention "what if" again. I am getting highly annoyed at your foolish scenarios. Besides, we are still looking for the old fool who placed us here in the first place. He will eventually have to come back for the title to the Abbey for whatever reason; until then, I am content on afflicting pain to these weak souls./

Yuri scoffed at his associate's attitude and flicked his hand towards the land. /The old fool probably died and no Russian soul would dare come here to claim such property as the Abbey… not without sacrificing his soul anyway./

Bryan turned to his associate, wiping his hands clean of the weaker souls' filth. /The old fool is still alive. How else would this Abbey continue to feast?/

/Because of Kai's bond to it. No matter what may happens, so long as Kai does not leave this place, then we shall live here in this realm of the dead./

/So you suggest we kill Kai so we may be free?/ questioned Bryan.

Yuri smirked and glanced back to the Abbey. /To kill Kai would indeed free us… yet the connection would be severed and we would be in Hell… I, for one, am not ready to spend eternity in _there_./

The lavender-haired sighed in annoyance at four more souls breaking free from the ground. /Do _they_ not get tired of escaping here?/

The red-haired Russian watched Bryan disappear to pursue the souls and continued to float in mid-air. He shook his head at the idea of continuing to remain in this realm for all time, yet Yuri knew that there was a way to escape the Abbey. He will be damned (no pun intended) if he stays here and watches the opportunity to slip away from him again.

Several years ago, a psychic visited the Abbey, trying to establish a connection between him and the Russians. Of course, he had no idea how power it takes to forcefully conjure up all four Russians in one place, so that ended that medium's life. Yet, Yuri came to the conclusion that _should_ a powerful medium come along to attempt to exorcise the Abbey, they could steal that power and free themselves from the "natural" laws of haunting and into the physical realm.

Speaking of powerful mediums, that Chinese boy-_Rei- _certainly met the criteria. Such beauty with that amazing power could be useful to him in numerous ways. Yuri smirked at the thoughts flooding his mind, but managed to focus on forming a plan to trap Rei here _and _free them from this realm.

/Kai was right,/ chuckled Yuri, /his friends could be of some use to us./

* * *

Max jolted awake as soon as he felt that Russian presence leave his dream at once. He glanced behind him to see the blond Russian laying the ground still and turned back around when he heard a whimper. "Chief!"

In Kenny's hand held a plasmicergy gun that was smoking from the barrel. Although smaller than a normal repeating rifle, it carries blessed cartridges that were extracted from God-knows-where at the P.E.E.A. for this type of threatening situations. Kenny has never shot it before this time because Tyson always did the shooting, if necessary (and that was twice). The younger Breaker was shaken at the gun's harmful effect and was staring at the blond ghost who was now starting to move-

"Chief!"

Kenny glanced over to Max and began to panic. "Max! Come here! There's no barrier where you're at! You have to get by me!"

Max scrambled towards Kenny, avoiding on stepping Tyson's body and as soon as last part of his body (his foot) got into the blood barrier, Sergei was glaring harshly at the two quaking Breakers several inches away from the barrier. They held onto each other as the blond Russian disappeared and reappeared on numerous sides of the barrier, pounding at it and ignoring the shocking pain.

Tears fell from the auburn-haired teen as he glanced at Tyson's and Rei's still form. "Wh-where are they!"

Max bit his bottom lip, refusing to cry in front of his distraught friend and this enraged ghost. His blue eyes attempted to follow the Russian's aggressive attacks on the barrier then glanced at his unconscious friends. "Th-they might be in a Trance," stammered Max, clutching onto Kenny. "I hope they're alright-"

"I hope they're on their way back-AH!" Kenny jumped at the Russian's pounding from behind him, making the Chief bury his head into Max's shirt.

The blond human glared at Sergei, attempting to be brave for Kenny's sake. "I won't let you hurt us."

Despite the brave front his _mishka_ was showing, Sergei smirked at the trembling fear deep in his voice and those blue eyes. He had thought about flipping another stone as Kai demonstrated earlier, but he knew his power's limits. He was aggravated that not once, but _twice_, a human has pushed him onto his back… and Sergei does not like to lose.

"Even if you two are safe, _mishka_," chuckled Sergei leaning towards the blond who moved away from the attempt. Sergei moved his head towards the two unconscious Breakers and smirked, "_they_ perhaps are not, especially from my other associates. In fact, I know where that blue-haired idiot is right now. Would you like me to get him for you? In pieces perhaps?"

Both Max and Kenny gasped at the information, which almost caused Max to jump at Sergei. Kenny pressed on the blond arm and shook his head, yelling, "You're lying!"

"Oh? Am I?" Sergei stood up and began to fade away, still chuckling at the scared boys. "I will bring you proof… would you like his head or a finger as such?"

As soon as Sergei disappeared, Max attempted to leave the barrier-

"DON'T!" cried Kenny, making Max stay within. "We don't know if he actually left or not! He could be bluffing and turned invisible just to get us!"

"What if he isn't! What if Tyson's hurt!" The blond sobbed at the thought, but remained in his position. He looked at the stairs and then turned his attention towards the window that did not shine any daylight; night was upon them.

The Chief followed his gaze towards the window and held back a gasp. "Tyson and Rei are fine for the moment, but if they do not come back here, I'm scared about will _could_ happen."

Max glanced at Kenny and looked at the paranormal weapon beside him. "How many shells are left?"

The auburn-haired teen glanced down at the gun and shuddered at the feeling of firing it. "I don't know how to check, but I only fired one."

The blond smiled and shook his head in amazement. "You fired that without your glasses and you managed to hit him?"

Kenny grinned and blushed. "I may be visionally-impaired, but I can still see shapes."

"Thanks, Chief, for saving me," Max shivered at the dream-no _nightmare_- he had. He glanced back at the hallway and turned back to his friend. "If he's gonna be back, especially empty-handed, he's gonna be pissed. We'll just have to get prepared for him."

The Chief nodded and nervously looked around before addressing Max, "wh-what if his fr-friends show up?"

Max bit his lip in anxiety and smiled nervously, "then you can shoot at them since you're the better shot-"

Max screamed, followed by Kenny's screams, as a ghostly hand grabbed onto the blond's ankle from the stone floor.

* * *

Rei looked around at his new surroundings, trying to locate this new Russian ghost with blood-red eyes. Earlier he had heard Max and Kenny scream, somewhat relieved to know that they are awake and alive, but he had a very troubled feeling in his stomach as to _why_ they were screaming. He was pushed into this current room by an invisible force and was dealing with surprise gusts of cool air that caught him off guard.

Golden eyes turned into slits as the Chinese medium, using his energy and hands, pushed the air a couple of feet away from him and looked around for the Russian phantom.

"Is that all you have?" spoke Rei, shifting his glare to his left.

Kai, on the other hand, was very amused with this psychic's abilities. He knew that he could do more damage to the boy if Kai wished it, but he preferred to test Rei Kon's spiritual strength. He stood on the ceiling, peering down to Rei's tensed form, and started to plan for this youth. Also earlier, Kai felt another presence in the shadow labyrinth, but thought nothing of it; later on, he discovered that Sergei's energy was climbing as he also heard mortals screaming. 'These mortals are very interesting indeed… perhaps even perfect for this experiment.'

Kai, though invisible to Rei at the moment, vanished from his corner and remained standing on the ceiling and before Rei, invisible. "I could do more if I wish, but that will break you."

Feeling the Russian standing before him, Rei glared and moved his hands to his chest. "You can't break me even if you tried."

"That is quite arrogant of you," Rei shifted his stance towards his left, now feeling the ghost somewhat behind him on the left. The human youth slowly got into his first position of conjuring a spiritual defense, moving his hands and fingers: he placed his two first left fingers pointed upwards, while his remaining fingers grasped his right thumb and the right index and middle fingers pointed away from his body.

"And you're bluffing," said Rei. He refused to move when a strong gust of cold air blew his wrapped hair and shirt up with such force that almost caused Rei to float to the ceiling.

"Are you questioning my strength to yours?"

"Not questioning, but perhaps testing," the Chinese youth was still uneasy about this ghost's powers; the Russian was an invisible specter while Rei was in the spirit realm. That is enough of a clue not to engage in combat with him.

"Interesting… I was doing something similar," chuckled the phantom. It somewhat irked Kai that Rei was challenging him, but again he felt compelled not to bring harm to this youth. Besides, what usage did he have with Rei Kon if the boy dies? His powers would most likely be reincarnated into another life form, then Kai would certainly dispose the boy; no, he must allow him to live.

"You're only testing my patience," said Rei, smirking. "You may have an eternity to do that, but I still like to live my life."

Kai frowned at the overconfident tone from the other's voice. "What do you want with my place of residence?"

"Just want to collect some information-"

"I find that unlikely," Kai reappeared by the door, visible now, and leaned on its frame. He closed his eyes in a seemingly relaxed position and continued to talk. "What kind of children travel to a cursed place, knowingly risk their young lives, just to 'collect some information'?"

Rei, still refusing to let his guard down, gave a small smile towards the Russian. "I guess foolish ones."

Kai turned his attention to the spirit, glaring at him. "You have no business being here and I suggest you _and_ your friends take your leave."

"We just got here," glaring at the specter, Rei took a step forward as though provoking the other to do something. "We haven't collected what we need for our records. After that, we will be more than happy to do so."

The ruby-eyed ghost glanced his right, peering down the hallway and smirked maliciously. "At the rate my associate is climbing, it looks as though only _you_ will be permitted to leave."

Rei widened his eyes and tried to rush towards the door, but his feet were frozen to the floor. He looked down-

Rotting hands of corpses held his feet with an incredible amount of strength. He gasped at the horrifying sight and wanted to yell at the hands, but he needed to get to his friends immediately.

He tried to move or create enough energy to push himself off the floor to float, but he failed and felt the hands tighten with every attempt he made. Rei glared at the ghost who turned his attention back to the hallway. "Release me now!"

"I am not a pleasing person when being demanded to do something," spoke Kai in an angered whisper. He pushed himself from the door frame and walked over to Rei. Looking him in his angry golden eyes, Kai continued: "you all apparently knew the danger you were getting yourselves into when you came to this Abbey. The time has not even chimed ten and you are all in grave predicaments."

Rei inhaled sharply at the mention of time, stopping his small attempts to break free of the several grips. "What do you want in order for me to help my friends?" Rei was not doubting his barrier's strength, but Kai did mention an important detail: the Witching Hour was not upon them yet, thus his barrier could crumble at the ghosts' using their maximum powers.

The Russian raised an eyebrow in triumph, still staring into Rei's defeated, yet frustrated eyes. "_If_ I decide to release you, create a way for us to escape this damned Abbey," Kai narrowed his eyes, "and do not lie by saying you have no idea what I am talking about. Surely, for children like you to have such knowledge of this place, you do _know_ how to let us roam the Earth."

Rei gasped at the proposal. His heart pounded in his chest, having known what this specter was asking. Although powerful ghost they are, Rei knew that more powers come with more limitations… but he also knew that some of these serious limitations have loopholes.

"No…" whispered Rei, slightly shaking his head. "I can't-"

"You mean you _will not_… you are perfectly safe here, so long as I allow you to live," explained Kai, turning his back to Rei and walking towards the door. "Your friends are not so fortunate on the other hand. Would you allow them to die and their souls become part of this Abbey, or will you create a path full of liberty for us?" The bluenet turned his glance towards Rei, giving him a devious smile. "Either situation, I gain something and you lose."

* * *

Earlier, before Max woke, Tyson was trying very hard to go through the walls of the room. He ran and collided into several different spots, but never forgetting the urgency of getting to Max and Kenny. His patience was fading, each time he pushed, kicked, punched, or shoved into the walls.

"Damn it! How the hell do I get out!" yelled Tyson, sliding down the wall, panting from rushing into "solid" walls. He remembered Rei mentioning something about a ghost's ability to strengthen the atoms making up an object to make it seem "solid" in the spirit realm, but he did not remember anything else with that statement. He sighed in frustration and looked up, hoping his friends were alright on the floor above him-

Tyson jumped from his seating with a triumphant grin on his face, still staring at the ceiling. He tried going through the walls, but _not _the ceiling! He bent his knees and jumped…

Falling short six inches from his outstretched fingertips. He hummed with annoyance and tried once again, still falling short. "Oh, c'mon!" Tyson yelled at his actions. He tried several more times before stopping his attempts.

"Think, think, Tyson…" The bluenet looked around him in the dark room, trying to make out anything that he missed and that he could use as a temporary stepladder. When he was running around earlier, he did not feel _any_thing get into his way unless it floated out of nowhere-

"That's it!" cried Tyson, looking up at the ceiling. He loosened his neck and shoulders before he relaxed his mind. He may be a mortal human, but his spirit can still float at least. He calmed his mind, pushing his worries and concerns away and focused on making his "body" float to the ceiling. He closed his eyes, not letting the situation aggravate him further.

Soon, the bluenet opened his eyes which sparkled with victory, glancing at his dangling feet in midair. "Awesome!" he stretched his hand and found that it goes through the ceiling-

With Max screaming on the other side. Tyson frowned at the screams and pulled his upper body through, finding two sets of eyes staring at him full of fear for a brief second and then relief.

"Tyson!" cried Kenny, scrambling towards him. "Are you okay!" Max made his way towards Tyson, holding a bright grin. The bluenet grinned as well, folding his arms on the floor to allow the rest of his body to hang in the other room.

"I'm glad to see you guys are awake! You have no idea what happened to me-" Tyson paused in his sentence and looked around the two teens before looking at Max. "Where's Rei?"

Max shook his head and lifted his shoulders and hands. "I don't know. We were hoping he was with you."

The bluenet frowned at the discovery and started to pull the rest of himself through-

"AH!" Tyson yelled, bracing himself from the sudden weight on his feet. Cold, fiery grips held his ankles and were slowly climbing his calves. He refused to yell anymore and grinded his teeth in trying to pull himself up.

Max and Kenny held panicked looks, not knowing what was happening to Tyson. "What's wrong!" shouted Kenny.

"Something's pulling me… and it's burning…" growled Tyson, resisting the demands of whoever was pulling on him to go below the floor. Kenny tried to grab under Tyson's left shoulder, but he went through his friend.

"Tyson! You're not letting me grab you!"

"I'm a little bit… busy with what's… grabbing _me_, Chief!"

Max bit his lip in anxiety until a sudden wave of courage overwhelmed him. The blond quickly crawled towards the rifle and came back with it, trying to see how to shoot it. Tyson took a glance to Max and did a double-take at the weapon his friend possessed. "Max! What the hell are you gonna do-AH!" Tyson held his ground, resisting the demands of being pulled under.

"I was hoping you tell me!" Max wished for the best and took aim at the floor below his best friend.

Kenny widened his eyes and pushed the muzzle away from the floor. "Max, that gun's not designed to shoot through floors! And you might hit Tyson!"

"But it's hurting him!" yelled Max, dropping the weapon. He looked into mahogany eyes and rushed over to his friend. "Tyson, I know it burns, but you have to relax your mind to let us help you."

"Easier said than don-AH!" Tyson slipped an inch into the floor, but remained bracing himself. He closed his eyes, with much difficulty to ignore the pain in his legs, and concentrated on allowing Kenny and Max to touch to his spirit form.

Max reached under Tyson's other shoulder and pulled along with Kenny as soon as Tyson made himself "solid" for his friends' assistance. All three Breakers grunted and pulled (or pushed, in Tyson's case by using his arms and upper body) until Tyson's knees appeared above the floor. As he crawled away from the burning grips, the bluenet happened to open his eyes just in time to look into _very_ enraged brown eyes of the Russian blond phantom. "Oh shit!"

/You are becoming more of a pain to me,/ replied Sergei, ignoring the fearful looks of the other two humans. /You _will_ die before the night is over with!/ The Russian disappeared, leaving the three Breakers in apprehension.

"Wh-what's going to happen, Tyson?" asked Max, looking around for the specter.

"I don't know, Maxie," the bluenet said, glaring at the thought of a surprise attack. He debated on getting into his body or not, but decided to remain as a spirit; if the specter somehow damages the barrier, he can at _least_ allow Maxie and Kenny to run-

"What the hell!" cried Kenny, pointing to the ground. Tyson and Max stared at the ground, not sure what they were looking at… it was obviously coming out of the ground, yet not disturbing the physical floorboard-

"Z-z-zombies!" screamed Kenny, crawling away from the sight of a flesh-peeling corpse peering its head through the wooden floors. Max scooted away from the barrier's wall as Tyson subconsciously put up his arm in hopes of defending his friends.

"Shit…" mumbled Tyson, looking at now a total of maybe twenty of these disgusting things appearing before them. One charged at the barrier, only to screech in pain at the sudden shock from Rei's blood barrier. Others slowly made their way towards the humans, desiring to devour flesh. Though zombies they were not, these tortured creatures were only imprisoned phantom-like ghouls of the Abbey. Most died in a violent way, so violence is only what they know and can act upon.

"Tyson, what are we going to do?" cried Kenny, clutching onto Max's arm. He settled in the middle of the barrier instead of the opposite wall of the previous because another ghoul charged from the other side.

"As long as this barrier holds, we'll be okay, right?" questioned Max, resisting the urge to cry at the nightmarish sight. Tyson gritted his teeth, glancing at the bloodied stone. It slightly wobbled when a ghoul charges; as much as the bluenet would like to believe the barrier would hold throughout the night, he feared that several more of those aggressive charges would shatter the barrier.

Tyson bit his bottom lip before facing Max who was watching a couple of ghouls crawl over their equipment. "Max, look at me… Kenny," both boys gazed into confident brown eyes that did not pay the slightest attention to the horror around them. "This barrier will hold because Rei is a very strong psychic. He's still out there and even if he's caught in the middle of something, we have each other. At the very least, I can distract them and lead them away from you two while you run like hell away from here-"

"No! We're not leaving you!" cried Max, not wanting to think of the possibility of losing not one, but two friends to the Abbey. "We're going to stay here and fight-"

"But how, Max!" yelled Kenny who was very _much_ aware of the dreadful situation outside the barrier. "Those things would likely be focused on _us_ than Tyson because _we_ are still human!"

"Chief! Get a hold of yourself!"

"We should have never come here, Tyson! I told _you_ we should've went to St. Petersburg!-"

"He is right," all three Breakers gasped at the Russian tone being so close to them. Tyson and Kenny frantically looked around the ghouls, while the blond American stared up and fearfully gawked at the phantom above them. When Kenny and Tyson joined Max in his gazing, Kenny screamed at the sudden appearance of the Russian while the bluenet glared. "You should have _never_ come here to the Abbey!"

With widened mahogany eyes filled with malice, Sergei laughed darkly. "The Witching Hour is upon you within the hour! What will you do when your precious barrier crumbles at the strength of my powers!"

Kenny started to hyperventilate, realizing that the Russian poltergeist was right; Max cowered before the ghost, whimpering at the horrified thought of him being the Russian's captive once more; and Tyson glowered at the Russian threat.

"Stay away from my friends or I _will_ push you into Hell."

"After you, pest-"

"_That_ is quite enough, Sergei."

Everything happened in an instance: the ghouls retreated from the Breakers, sinking into the floorboard until the last one faded under; Sergei stood above the barrier, hovering two inches from "burning" his feet, and glared at the voice's owner; the two human teens gasped at the top of the stairs, while Tyson stood to almost run out of the barrier…

At the top of the stairs stood a ghost with garnet eyes and two different shades of blue for hair, glaring at the scene before him. Neither the sudden appearance of this new Russian ghost nor did the sudden dismissal of the ghouls caused by said Russian poltergeist scare the remaining Breakers; the sight of Rei unconscious in this phantom's arms brought a new wave of fear in their hearts.

"REI!" exclaimed Max and Kenny, also wanting to aid their friend.

"What the hell did you do to him!" yelled Tyson.

"We made a deal in exchange for your lives," the Russian eyed his associate and spoke in their native tongue: /you are not to call upon those souls for petty issues _again_,/ Sergei bowed his head in silence, clutching his hands into fists; the other continued: /you are dismissed from here, Sergei./

Kenny made a squeaky noise when the blond Russian disappeared in anger. Nevertheless he turned his attention, alongside his two companions, anxiously watching this Russian.

The phantom smirked and lifted his head in a proud manner, speaking clear and loudly: "Welcome to my Abbey. If you do not want your friend to join the lost souls who were just attacking you, I suggest you listen carefully to my words."

Ever the defiant one, Tyson shouted at the ghost. "Who the hell are you! And what did you do to Rei!" The Russian glared at the other bluenet, resisting the urge to clutch his hands in annoyance. "_I_ am the one holding your friend's life in my hands, so I suggest you stop annoying me with useless questions."

He carefully walked down the stairs, his blood-colored eyes never leaving the Breakers. Once he joined them in the main lobby, he glared at the bluenet. "Your friend provided me precious information about leaving this cursed place and _you_ are going to help me."

"And what if we refuse?"

"Tyson! Rei…" Max whispered in a harsh whisper. He watched his unconscious Chinese friend, trying to look for a sign of life.

"If you refuse, then I will be more than happy to add this medium to my collection of the dead. Do we have an accord?"

* * *

Authoress' Note: My extended thanks to _Panicchannel_ for helping me with the Russian language (I will correct the words in future chapters). Also, forgive me of my tardiness in posting this chapter, as well as its length; I pray the quality will make amends for the lack of quantity. The Witching Hour is midnight, true, but I read somewhere that three in the morning is the Devil's Hour, so I made the "Witching Hour" ranging from midnight to three.


	5. In Trade

Authoress' Note: On an obvious note, I did not fall off the planet; I merely got distracted with life as do other people ~laughs~ No matter, the show WILL go on and MUST go on. I am also working on another fic to give myself a break from this one, if you can make sense of my madness. I hope this chapter will please the fans because this one goes to all of you for your patience. Cheers!

Disclaimer: See previous chapter(s).

Key: See previous chapter(s).

Warnings: Mild language, disturbing (sexual and horrific) images, and friendship-talk (if you are not the sappy kind of person).

**Chapter Four: In Trade**

As soon as Rei drifted into unconsciousness from his encounter with Kai, he felt immediate sunlight on his eyelids. Before opening his eyes as he was slowly drifting back to reality, the Chinese medium heard a lark chirping nearby as well as his nose smelling flowery scents. He mentally frowned at this sudden idea of being back in his village; there was no possible way he was home, especially after his encounter with _him_-

Rei snapped his eyes opened and pushed himself into a sitting position, inhaling sharply at being vulnerable to the Russian ghosts. Golden orbs swept across the room, realizing at once there were no phantoms. His eyes focused on an opened window to the right, with the sun gleaming into the room and across the green-filled land; not a single snowflake to be found. Turning his vision inside the room, Rei suddenly noticed Tyson sleeping in two chairs on his left and someone else sleeping in one chair at the bed's end-

The Chinese medium gasped at seeing his brother Lee in person. There he sat, in a meditated position: built arms folded across his chest, his darkened head bowed in light slumber, and his breathing was peaceful, though his facial expression told otherwise. But Rei knew that if his brother was here in the same room as him who was currently bedridden, then surely he was in no condition to fight, physically _or_ spiritually. Rei groaned as he massaged his lower back; just exactly how long has he been home?-

Tyson stirred from his sleep and made a slurping noise before almost stumbling out of his chairs. Cursing to himself for not grabbing a third chair, he turned to the sound of chuckling coming from the bed-

"REI! You're awake!" Tyson quickly grabbed a chair and pulled it to Rei's bedside, patting his friend's leg. "Man, am I glad to see you awake!" Rei smiled at his eccentric friend and nodded in agreement.

"As am I," spoke Lee. He smirked at his younger sibling and unfolded his arms while standing up. "I'm very glad that no serious harm has befallen on you or your friends." Lee picked up his chair and set it down on Tyson's left.

"We thought that he seriously did put you into a coma-" started Tyson.

Rei frowned at Tyson's statement, and shook his head. "I don't remember if he did or didn't… how long have I been asleep?"

"For about twelve days," answered Lee, holding sorrow in his bronze eyes, "we could not even sense your spirit in your body, fearing the worse, yet you were still breathing. At first, we thought a possession has taken place, but gradually your spirit faded into consciousness. What happened to you, brother?"

The golden-eyed teen inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, trying to piece together all that happened to him from the time he met the blue-haired Russian until the minute he woke up. Rei stared into his lap, saying, "I remember him testing my strength and me testing his," his eyes widened at the realization, not glancing up, "and… and making a Soul Contract in trade for something."

Lee inhaled sharply and cursed under his breath, ignoring Tyson's confused look. The bluenet clinched his teeth and sucked in air before turning back to Rei, "so it is a bad thing, I take it? Let me go get the others…"

Tyson excused himself from his chair and left the brothers to their own devices. Rei bit his bottom lip, not wanting to read disappointment in his brother's face. "Lee, please, do not be angry-"

"How could I not be angry?" Lee moved into Tyson's chair and dragged it closer to Rei. Lee was drawn back by his younger sibling's flinching at the chair's scraping, but that did not stop him from being a big brother. "Rei, I am not angry with you; just very irritated at the situation we're in now. I never thought _you_ would be the one to make a Contract…"

Rei turned his head away from Lee, glaring at the floor. "I guess I'm no longer the good brother, am I?"

Lee sighed and glanced away from his sibling. Gathering his thoughts, Lee gently placed his hand on Rei's forearm and waited for his brother's attention. The golden-eyed teen gave an impassive look to his brother, but still listened to what his older brother had to say.

"Rei, I didn't mean to say that offensively. I only meant that I thought _I_ was the one who would be doing something like that."

The other Chinese teen showed surprise in his face and curiosity in his eyes. "I don't understand."

Lee inhaled deeply and tightened his grip on Rei, but not enough to cause harm. "Ever since our parents passed, I felt I was solely responsible for you and Mariah. I accepted the possibility of sacrificing my life _or_ soul to save my family, which meant maybe having to go into a Soul Contract. You must have been in a very grim predicament to have done that."

Rei gently nodded, peering down into his lap. "I was, but I felt like I didn't have a choice. It was either give in and save my friends, or fight and lose all our lives."

"I'm glad to have such a selfless brother," smirked Lee, "even if he is the baby." He laughed as Rei pulled his arm away to hit Lee with a pillow from the side. After successfully dodging a pillow attack, Lee stood to hug Rei around his shoulders. "I am very glad to see you alive, little brother."

Returning the hug, Rei whispered: "Thank you for being with me."

"Aw! How touching!" Lee and Rei turned their surprised attention to the door frame which was occupied with three pairs of eyes. One pair of blue eyes gleamed happiness as Max clapped his hands together. "I wish I had a brother to bond with!"

Kenny rolled his eyes and straightened his glasses. "I always thought _we_ were your brothers, but if you don't want to claim us as such, then at least I don't have to share a room like one."

Everyone laughed, enjoying the comment and the chance to be away from the evils of the haunted Abbey. The rest of the Paranormal Breakers filled the room as Max sat at the end of the bed, while Kenny and Tyson took to the chairs. Lee sat back down into his chair and leaned back into it.

Rei frowned at a sudden thought. "Where is Mariah?"

Lee raised an eyebrow in disbelief and then shook his head. "Do you really want our sister here while you're in a bed? You know she will become frantic and try to destroy all of Russia for making you bedridden."

"That… is a good point."

"But, to answer your question, she is in a small village in Laos, aiding a witch doctor. Apparently, some mischievous spirits are in the mood to harm the living, so she set out to help or force them to cross over."

"Does she know that I'm here?" asked Rei.

Lee hesitated in answering: "… Not yet…"

Kenny shook his head and buried it in his hands. "That's not good. Mariah seems to be the type of girl who would have your head for not updating her on these things."

Lee sighed and shrugged. "It's actually best that she does _not_ know about you being back home. I can hear her fussing and arguing in my mind and it's causing me a headache."

"Well on a better note," replied Max, patting Rei's leg, "you have us to help make you feel better."

Rei smiled and held his hands up. "Thank you all, but I'm really fine physically. Spiritually, I may have to take it easy."

The older Chinese brother crossed his arms and frowned at the last part of Rei's sentence. "Taking it easy is an understatement. Now that you are in a Soul Contract, you have no choice but to rest while you are awake. No more tapping into your spiritual energy, for Trances or barriers, until the Soul Contract is fulfilled."

"Hey, that's what that Russian bastard said," replied Tyson, burrowing his eyebrows in frustration, "he mentioned that he made you go into a Soul Contract."

Lee snapped his attention to Tyson, unfolding his arms to clutch the armrests. "He? He made Rei…?" Turning to Rei, Lee had an angry glare in his bronze-colored eyes. "_You_ didn't make the Contract?"

Rei shrugged defensively and shook his head. "I really don't remember all the details after he told me the choices that I had."

Tyson clutched his hands into fists, glowering at the memory. "I remember what happened after seeing you unconscious in your spirit form…"

Max gave Rei a saddened look, resting his hand beside Rei's leg. "We already told Lee about everything up to that night when we were in the Abbey."

The youngest Breaker cleared his throat and looked at Lee. "I had thought it best that if Rei didn't remember what had happened to him, we would tell him _and_ you about that night. I spoke to Mr. Dickinson about the… exchange before he left here."

Rei lifted his eyebrows in surprise. "Mr. Dicknison was here?"

The bluenet nodded and crossed his arms, glaring at the corner of the bed. "Mr. D was the one that saved us and suggested we go to China. He left about three days ago as soon as he was assured that you would be making a complete recovery. But, after that night… we weren't so confident…"

…

"_And what if we refuse?"_

"_Tyson! Rei…" Max whispered in a harsh whisper. He watched his unconscious Chinese friend, trying to look for a sign of life. _

"_If you refuse, then I will be more than happy to add this medium to my collection of the dead. Do we have an accord?" the phantom smirked at the helplessness of this medium's friends. _

"_What information did he provide you?" asked the other bluenet, still glaring at the Russian phantom._

"_Tyson, I don't think we should be pushing Rei further into danger!" whispered Max, not once removing his gaze off Rei._

"_Your friend is wise in knowing who has the advantage," spoke the ghost, moving closer to the group. "As I told your medium before, it is not even the Witching Hour and you are all in a very dire dilemma."_

"_Even so," replied Kenny, regretting on speaking to the ghost, "y-you said that you need our help, so you really can't kill our friend."_

"_Foolish boy, I could still use your medium's abilities for my personal uses or even possess his body to walk away from this Abbey. His soul will be forever binding to this damned place until Hell claims _all_ of the Abbey's souls, including his. Are you willing to risk his soul for the selfish reason of not extending your aid for my gain?" _

_"Damn you!" yelled Tyson, wanting to rush up to the poltergeist and punch him. "What did he tell you?"_

"_Enough that you are all in league with powerful technology to locate _any_ phantoms that are deemed menacing. He also told me one very possible way to escape this place without consequence… and that is where you are going to assist me."_

"_What about Rei? What did you do to him?" asked Max, very scared for Rei. He glanced at Rei's body, not showing any signs of breathing, and back towards his unconscious friend in spirit form. He stared at red orbs of power, fearing for _all_ their lives._

"_I made him go into a Soul Contract with me, to ensure I get what I desire. In trade for this, I will spare your lives for _only_ tonight. You will have the chance to leave this damned Abbey without any harm. When I next see you on these grounds, you have better have what I am searching for."_

"_What the hell is a Soul Contract!" demanded Tyson._

"_Your… friend will explain that, I am very sure. Just remind him the next time we meet will be when he sleeps," The red-eyed Russian ghost allowed Rei's spirit to float under his command as he dropped his arms and glanced down at his future prisoner. The phantom waved his hand, moving Rei's spirit back into his own body. Facing back to the unwanted visitors, the Russian ghost gave an impassive glare to them. "Do not meddle in my affairs or the Abbey's, and if you are wise, you will stay only in this room. Until we meet…"_

_With that, the ghost vanished._

_Max rushed to Rei's side and checked for any sign of life. "He's barely breathing, Tyson!"_

_Kenny scrambled to floor to assist Max in any way, but realized he could not do much without his glasses. "Tyson, I need my spare glasses… Tyson?"_

_Both friends looked up to see Tyson still not moving from his spot, but merely hovered. His fists hung by his sides, shaking with rage and while angry tears threatened to spill. "DAMN YOU!" he yelled into the main lobby, his voice echoing throughout the building. _

"_Tyson?" whimpered Max, after waiting a few seconds for any specters to appear. "I know you're upset right now, but we have to get Rei out of here." _

"_What if this Contract prevents him from leaving with us?" asked Kenny._

_The bluenet floated back into his body and once he was reunited, Tyson quickly went to one of Kenny's cases to open and search into it. Once he found the Chief's glasses, he handed the pair of lens to his friend and sat down next to Max. Looking down at Rei who appears to be sleeping, Tyson spoke to Kenny: "Chief, make an emergency call to Mr. D and see what we can do on our end to help Rei. Max, stay with Rei and come find me to see if his pulse is dropping or disappears." _

"_What are you going to do, Tyson?" asked Max, looking at his friend with a sliver of panic._

_The Japanese teen sighed and shook his head. He looked around at the equipment and down the hallways. "I'll start packing up and preparing to leave this place. After that, we'll just take turns staying awake to make sure that… ghost keeps his end of the bargain until morning." _

"_What if Rei…"_

"_Rei is very strong psychic. He won't die… he _can't_ die."_

…

A heavy silence followed after Tyson's story, as the group kept to their own thoughts. Lee clutched his fists at the thought of almost losing another family member. Tyson exhaled deeply through his nose, swearing one day he will punch those Russian bastards for the pain they have brought. Max and Kenny seemed downcast for a moment, then focused their attention to their Chinese friend. Rei inhaled softly and gave a small smile to everyone around him, "thanks, Tyson, Max, Kenny. I owe you my life."

Max nodded and smiled a little. "After that trip in the States, it's the very least I can do, even if it wasn't much."

Lee let out a frustrated sigh. "So, a Soul Contract is upon us, in trade for something that this ghost wants. Who was this fiend?"

The auburn-haired teen rolled back his shoulders and straightened his position. "I believe it's Voltaire's grandson, Kai Hiwatari. I don't think any other ghost could have that much power in that place."

Rei nodded in agreement. "It must be him; the only names I heard were Yuri and Sergei, but even then I could feel that they had strong spiritual power as well."

"But enough to knock you unconscious?" questioned Tyson, standing up. "That bastard has to be Hiwatari's grandson!"

A shimmer of hope appeared in Max's eyes, "Now that we know his name, we can use it against him! Doesn't having a name of a ghost hinder its abilities?"

"I'm afraid not, Max," spoke Lee, frowning down at his crossed arms. "The power of names is strong, but not strong enough for a ghost. A demon, yes, but not a lost soul."

Tyson let out exasperated sigh and fall back into his seat. "Well, at least we know _who_ were dealing with. What the hell did he make Rei do? A Soul Contract? What is that?"

Lee unfolded his arms and leaned on his knees, letting his hands dangle for a moment before sitting up. "The way to explain it requires patience, so please forgive me if some parts are unclear.

"Basically, a Soul Contract is giving a part of your soul to someone… for insurance purposes. An underhanded thing to do to assure a person, or ghost in this case, but the deed will be accomplished without question. Say Rei were to die right now: he could not go into Heaven or Hell. His soul is not complete because he gave a part of it to someone else. Also, when we sleep we are most vulnerable so our spirits can float in between worlds unconsciously. Now when he dreams from now on, his spirit will go to his captor."

"I thought his soul was taken? Wouldn't his soul go to him?" questioned Tyson.

"A soul is the only reason we are called humans, that makes a person human and gives the body life," continuing Lee, "a spirit is bound to a soul, no matter how small the soul is, and what connects us to the spirit realm. We can use 'soul' and 'spirit' interchangeably when describing what makes a human, well human; however, in this case, to preserve a body with human characteristics, the majority of the soul must stay in the body."

"What if he made two of these Contracts?" asked Kenny, making mental note of this explanation.

"Very difficult to do, but it can be done only with grave consequences in mind. If Rei made two separate contacts, then his spirit would be divided into two, which means his spiritual powers would be cut in half. It's best _not_ to entangle with Soul Contracts at all."

"But Rei made the Contract in Russia! I didn't think a spirit could travel _that_ far from the body," said Max, looking at Rei with worried eyes.

"As long as a person's soul has not been destroyed, the spirit is connected to it. At least I'll only be in Russia while I sleep and not forever wandering the Earth." spoke Rei, giving Max a full smile, "I'll be fine, Max. Kai can't hurt me, especially if he's desperately wanting something that only we can get."

The older Chinese brother glared hard at the bed, explaining his sudden thoughts: "What disturbs me the most is how can a ghost perform a Soul Contract? Even if he has possession of thousands of souls, he's still not powerful enough to take something of the living except a living person's body... Or life."

An ominous silence hung over the group. After contemplating on everything that has happened, Tyson tried his best control his temper, but he still grumpily asked: "What exactly do we have to get for that asshole?"

Rei closed his eyes, trying to remember what Kai asked of him and his friends. He mentioned wanting to roam the Earth, to escape the cursed bond of spirit and its haunting. The more souls a haunting takes, the more stronger the bond… and the stronger the ghost.

"I know he wants to leave the Abbey."

"Fine, we'll push his ass into the afterlife."

"It's not that simple, my friend," said Lee, running his hand through his bangs and having apprehension in his eyes, "It sounds like he doesn't want to go to the afterlife, and he apparently has unfinished business here on Earth. Even if he did want to cross over, this Kai will be spending an eternity in Hell."

"So he wants to live forever as a ghost?" asked Max, not understanding. "I get why he can't leave his haunting, but what's the harm in letting him roam? I don't think he had intentions on killing…I hope…"

"You may be right," said Rei, remembering those cruel garnet pools peering into his spirit, "but that's not a chance anyone's going to take. If he did roam, that means all those souls that are trapped will be freed as well. We can't allow him to roam _and_ have tortured souls loose. They would become monstrous creatures and progress into something dangerous, like destroying the living," Rei groaned at another thought and voiced it: "And along with Kai, he wants his associates to be free too-"

"Fuck no!" shouted Tyson, gripping his armrests, "So that blond fucker can mess with Max again? And what about Kenny! I found him bruised and-Hell no! I'm not letting _any_ of those bastards out of that fucking Abbey."

Kenny cringed at Tyson's word choice, but agreed with his friend. "I don't particularly care for _any_ of those specters to be let loose, but what choice do we have?" Turning to Lee, Kenny asked, "What would happen if Rei doesn't fulfill this Contract?"

Not wanting to stare at any of them, Lee closed his eyes and sighed. "Rei would die and his soul would be trapped in that Abbey… or if Kai wished, they would swap places and Rei would be the one tied to the Abbey. I never heard of a Soul Contract being broken and I don't intend on wanting my brother to experience the outcome."

The auburn-haired teen whimpered and glanced at Rei, whose golden eyes widened with fear. "I-I think we need to contact Mr. Dickinson and see what we can do for Kai."

Max bit his bottom lip and looked at his Chinese friend. Tyson looked outside in anger and then focused back inside onto Rei, asking, "How do you free a ghost from its haunting, but not letting any of the other souls get out?"

"A simple swapping of places could do it…" murmured Lee, glancing at his younger brother, "it will work best if a relative of Kai's bloodline trades places. A simple stranger will not survive the bonding. Does Kai have any descendants?"

"That's the real problem," spoke Kenny, leaning his arms onto the bed and burying his head in them. With a muffled voice, but loud enough for everyone to hear: "There's no one alive from the Hiwatari blood line."

…

Several hours later, and a few phone calls, the Paranormal Breakers and Lee were on the porch of a Chinese elder's home, enjoying the warm coming-of-spring evening. Rei watched as the sun set and smiled at the people who sat or stood around him. 'I'm proud to call these guys my friends… and Lee my brother,' Rei sighed, focusing on the dirt, 'what will happen to them if I don't make it?'

"What seems to trouble you, little brother?" Lee watched Rei sighed and stared into the dirt, which cued him to ask and to sit next to Rei.

"It's just… I don't want to fail any of you, but I don't want to go through with his demands."

"At the time, that was the best choice to save _all_ of you, as you told me, and I trust your judgment," replied Lee, propping his arm on an upright knee. He rested his chin on his arm and stared at the fading sunlight. "With this group of friends whom you treat as brothers, I would protect them at all costs. You are very powerful medium, Rei, and with power comes responsibility and risks. I'm sure another answer will appear before you even have to suffer."

"Besides," said Max, smiling at another bonding moment for the Chinese brothers, "we're not letting you become one of those… things. You're too pretty to become that."

"Don't you mean handsome?" asked Rei, side-glaring his brother's snickering.

Kenny cleaned his lens with a handkerchief from his pocket, agreeing with Max: "You do have girlish features, Rei," when the youngest teen put his glasses back on to focus on Rei, he was also greeted with threatening glare. "Sorry! I just, well, uh… Tyson…"

Tyson was laughing out loud to the point of tears pooling in his eyes. "S-sorry Rei!" After a moment of calming himself down, the bluenet defended himself. "Okay, okay… Point is, Rei, we're not letting you go without a fight. We'll find a way before this bastard gets his way. Count on it!"

"Thanks guys," Rei grinned, "you are all something else."

Lee nodded. "Thank you for being there for Rei, from the bottom of my heart," Tyson nodded, while Max and Kenny gave them both thumbs up. Lee stood up and stretched his arms before smiling to the Paranormal Breakers and saying, "I am going to bed after eating and setting some barriers. Even though I doubt Kai will possess Rei at such a distance, I am not going to chance it," bending down to kiss the top of Rei's hair, Lee bid good night to everyone.

"So, recapping the phone calls to Mr. D," began Tyson, sitting down on the other side of Max, "he confirmed that Kai Hiwatari was the last one of his blood line because all Russian documents provided proof."

Kenny nodded and pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose, "right, we may have to go back to some haunted places to get some more information from both the living and beyond. Since Rei can't put us into Trances, we'll just have to use technology and instincts, hoping the latter won't lead us into a trap. I suggest we avoid going to Russia at all costs until we're certain we have a better solution."

The blond smiled and stood up from his sitting position. "Do remember saving Robert's great uncle from that evil spirit? We lured that spirit to a graveyard and bind him to his grave! What if we can lure Kai to a graveyard and trap his spirit?"

Kenny sighed in disappointment, explaining: "We had his uncle's skull and other family members were buried in that same graveyard. First, we don't know _where_ Kai's parents or ancestors are buried. Second, we don't know where Kai's _body_ is, and my guess is that it's probably under the Abbey or somewhere on its grounds. And third-"

"Kai's too strong to bind him to just a man-made grave," finished Rei, gazing Max with a disheartened look. The Chinese medium stood up and glanced at his surrounding friends and associates. Inhaling a deep breath, Rei let out his crazy thought that he kept mentally rejecting: "When I go to Russia in spirit form, I'll ask Kai to remind me what I'm looking for." Disagreement filled the air as the rest of the Breakers try to convince Rei otherwise.

He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, explaining: "I'm bound to this Contract anyway, whether we like it or not. Besides," Rei tilted his head back in frustration with himself for having spoken to the damned Russian, "I told him we were capable… of calling back souls from the afterlife. Maybe he plans on switching his soul with a family member, but I _am_ against pulling anyone from a heaven or a hell they deserved."

Tyson tried to glare the conversation away, but no prevail. The bluenet let out an annoyed huff and left the porch to go behind the house. The blond felt torn between friends, but decided to go after Tyson after saying to Rei, "but you deserve a heaven too, Rei. We'll find another way around this." Max took his leave to follow the bluenet, leaving the youngest and oldest Breakers to the porch.

Kenny shook his head and brought his knees to his chest, looking out to the darkened horizon. He felt Rei sit beside him, but did not feel his eyes staring at him for his input. The auburn-haired teen blew a bang away from his vision and continued to stare at the sky that was beginning to twinkle with stars. "I never thought this could occur, but then again we have seen the unexpected appear. When Max was held captive in Scotland, I thought for sure he was going die if we didn't help him soon. But then, working as a team, we saved him… we couldn't have saved him if it wasn't for you, Rei. Without you, there wouldn't be Paranormal Breakers."

Rei let a soft snort. "I highly doubt that. You all were doing very well without my meddling. I just wanted to see the world with trusted companions and in turn, help you guys with anything that I can provide. You guys were already the Breakers; you just added one more to your group."

"Now that you're one of us, we won't give up like this," Rei watched Kenny stand up with a hopeful gleam behind the lens. "I'll do my part as a Breaker and research night and day on a way of breaking this Contract _without_ fatal outcomes. If I happen to cross a way to mislead Kai into getting what he wants, then so be it. I will not lose a friend-"

"A best friend," Kenny and Rei turned to Tyson's voice on their right. They saw Tyson's arm around Max's shoulder, both smiling with pride. All was temporarily forgotten and the group rejoined on the porch for a moment longer. After reassuring one another that each will do his part, Tyson excused himself for a snack, while Kenny left to research Soul Contracts and further into the Hiwataris' past. Standing outside as best friends, Max and Rei looked at the stars above them.

"Do you think we become stars after we die?" asked Max.

Rei chuckled, "I don't know. According to you, I'm pretty enough to be one."

Max laughed softly and let it fade into the night. He zipped his orange jacket higher and stuffed his hands into his pockets, not facing the other teen. "I've been meaning to ask you privately, but when you made that Soul Contract… were you planning to die earlier than you thought you would?"

Rei snapped his head to Max in a disbelieved manner. "No! My only concern was trying to save you guys from that Sergei bastard, not ending my life."

The blond bit his bottom lip and faced Rei. "I'm sorry… it's just… ever since you told me about using your life energy and how it decreases your own life… and that Tyson told us that you used your energy to heal Kenny, I'm really worried about you and how this might end."

"Max-"

The mentioned teen gently held up his hand to pause Rei's explanation. Dropping his hand, Max continued, "when you go to sleep tonight, you'll be in Russia. I know you can protect yourself, but this time… it's different. I feel something really bad will happen to us… to you, more importantly… I just don't want to say goodbye."

Rei opened his arms and held Max for comfort. "Max, you're not going to lose me because I _don't_ want to leave you guys. Plus, you guys just told me that you aren't willing to abandon me as a best friend. I believe you guys will find a way and I'll remind myself to have faith in me."

The blond pulled away from Rei and gazed into warm golden eyes. "You promise you won't do anything stupid to jeopardize your life?"

Rei held up a hand and grinned, "I swear."

Max wrapped his arms around Rei's neck and squeezed. The two friends separated themselves, smiling at the stars and at the hopeful thoughts of making through this adventure together.

…

Meanwhile in the darkened Abbey, night has befallen and the captured lost souls were once again restless. All sorts of souls, ranging from different decades to different dying ages, were screaming, clawing, praying, crying, yelling, howling and cursing for freedom or revenge; most of them were craving the latter because of their master's mood. Over time, what makes a soul human slowly faded into a wandering, meaningless creature of the earth, capable of being controlled by any power. Though dead and tortured individuals they were, the lost souls collectively were one body that responded best by one who has the most power over their graves.

That phantom that held such power was none other than Kai Hiwatari. The Russian was now floating in a sitting position, a few inches above the Abbey's apex rooftops, having a leg dangling in the air and the other bent. He ignored those below him and focused on the current item before his garnet eyes: a single ankle-shackle with four chain links that glowed a greenish hue. He controlled the shackle, twisting and turning it.

Kai, with an impassive expression imprinted on his face, glanced below at the angered souls that he and his Russian associates caught over the decades. He did not care about their fate, but merely focused on that which was within his grasp: freedom to avenge his own death and… condition. Red orbs peered into the shackle that held something more valuable than all the lost Abbey souls combined: part of a living's soul. And not just any soul, a medium's… a very powerful psychic's.

Every flicker that grew faster indicated to Kai that this medium was close to dreaming. Once he dreamed, the Chinese psychic will be a captive among ruthless and vicious souls of the dead. Kai smirked at the idea of placing Rei in the middle of the Yard, but thought better. "Perhaps I can convince him of sacrificing his soul to me and make this God-forsaken Abbey a place to be fear throughout the world, not just Russia…"

Standing, yet floating above the Abbey, Kai continued to look at the little piece of soul imprisoned in the shackle. "Even better, _I will _show him that I do not intend to make his stay hospitable." Letting out a dark laugh that can be carried by the wind, Kai faded into his chambers, awaiting his 'guest'.

* * *

After unconsciously resting for twelve days and all sorts of problems tumbling onto the Breakers' shoulders, they were taking a toll on Rei and the others. Lee thought it would be best to have someone in the same room as Rei, but the younger sibling feared of Kai's possible possession of his own body and harming someone close to his body. Minor arguments were made, but everything was resolved: Rei would sleep in his room by himself and someone will be in an adjacent room if the "real" Rei needed assistance.

Now, after eating two full meals and meditating for no more than an hour, Rei was fighting to stay awake. He knew he would eventually succumb to sleep, but that did not mean he was willing. He looked out the window, enjoying the warmer climate compared to the last country he visited. Rei groaned in annoyance of his body craving more rest, yet he settled into bed. He turned onto his right, still staring at the night outside his window. "Damn that… ghost," yawned Rei, shaking his head to avoid his eyes from drooping. "I'll see if… I can convince him to… cross over… to where he truly belongs…" Giving into the sleep his body required, Rei felt his eyes shut. The last conscious thought in his mind was a prayer for him to come back to his body…

…

"At least I now know you plan on fulfilling your end."

Rei snapped his eyes opened and immediately realized he was not his room in China. He glanced over to the right, confirming his realization with cold stones surrounding him, then to the left, inhaling sharply at seeing Kai present. Rei took a step back to create some distance, but when he took another step he found his left ankle heavier.

The Chinese medium's eyes widened at the sight of a shackle fastened around his ankle. Glowing a steady bright green, the shackle was not attached to anything obvious, but Rei had a feeling that this piece of decoration was more than what it seemed. He snapped his attention back to Kai, who held an annoyed look. "What did you do!"

"Do you not know your own soul, psychic?"

Rei peered down at his imprisoned ankle and realized that his spirit and the little piece of his soul were one. He faced back at his captor, glaring, "you put my soul into a shackle? How clever."

Ignoring Rei's sarcasm, Kai spoke: "At least _I_ know you will not be escaping anytime soon. I control where you can and cannot be while you are imprisoned in the Abbey. If you start to wander, I _will_ find you. And punish you for causing me to fetch you."

Groaning inwardly at the annoyance of his condition, Rei crossed his arms and gave a dangerous glare. "While my friends and I are searching for a way to make you free, what are you going to do with me?"

"Whatever I want," Kai strolled over Rei to walk around him, watching for any fear, "I could force you to stay here longer than a night, I could easily steal your energy, I could allow my associates a turn for their amusement," the Russian smirked deviously as he watched Rei inhaled his breath sharply at the last suggestion. "Perhaps Bryan or Yuri can have a night with you."

Rei turned his frustrated golden eyes, glaring into deep crimson. The Chinese spirit knew what evil lies in this phantom, but he will stand tall during these nights. "How long am I staying here?"

Kai broke the eye contact to roll his eyes up, seemingly thinking about the length of Rei's imprisonment. "For all I know, you and your friends could prolong my request, so let me make this less difficult: if your friends do not return within two months time, then I will make your soul yearn for Hell when I am finished with you."

The Chinese medium blanched. With a sliver of fear in his eyes, Rei whispered harshly, "that's not fair!"

Kai rounded on him, being inches away from Rei's face. "Fair? I could narrow the time limit down to two _weeks_, would that please you?" Grabbing Rei's chin, demanding to see fear in his captive's eyes, Kai continued: "Fairness is unwelcome here, and so is mercy; neither of them will be at my disposal," Pushing Rei away who fell down, the Russian phantom turned to take his leave, but before he vanished, he glared down: "Stay within the Abbey's walls and you might be able to wake."

The raven-haired teen inhaled slowly and let out an aggravated sigh, not caring if any of the Russian phantoms heard him. For a very brief moment, Rei thought about escaping with his portioned soul, but immediately dismissed the idea; even though Kai was bound to the Abbey and could not personally bring Rei back, the Russian could command his _whole_ soul back to the Abbey-

Rei felt a sharp tug on his wrapped hair, hands instinctively flying to the base of his neck to relieve the pressure. Gasping aloud at another tug, Rei turned to what he could see: corpse-like hands were slowly growing from the stone floor, searching for the medium. He snapped his attention to strong grips on his calves and hips. He gritted his teeth at the sharp pain from his hair, trying to think of a way to escape. The only way he could think of was flooding the room with his spiritual energy; unfortunately, Lee warned him not to use into it while under the Soul Contract-

"Damn it!" yelled Rei, turning his elbow away from prodding ghostly fingers. "Let me go!" He successfully kicked a hand away, but it only brought back two more hands and doubled strength. One hand slowly clawing onto his inner thigh, making Rei let out a soft whimper and causing him to violently twist and turn-

"Well, this is a beautiful scene."

Rei bent his head backward, looking into icy blues that were full of twisted amusement. The Chinese spirit kept to silence, not wanting help, but could not stop a small whimper escaping when a finger crept towards his manhood.

Yuri crossed his arms in which he could balance his chin in his right hand. He looked into scared, but proud golden eyes of the medium who obviously was not going to ask him for assistance. "He was not kidding about you being arrogant," Yuri murmured, still watching Rei's fearful reaction and smirking at the one hand almost stroking Rei. "Are you enjoying yourself like I am enjoying watching you struggle?"

Rei hissed at the skeletal hand rubbing near his crotch, closing his eyes and hoping that all of this will vanish. He cried out when another hand started clawing on his chest, not making scratches but enough to get Rei oddly aroused as the fingers drew closer to his nipple…

The red-haired Russian licked his own bottom lip in pleasure. He has not been pleased like this for seemingly an eternity. "All you have to do, Kitten, is just ask for me to end this," suggested Yuri. "In trade for my assistance, I _will_ collect a price from you whenever I see fit."

The golden-eyed spirit was gasping lightly, trying hard not to cry out from the numerous groping. He would not dare ask that bastard for help, but these hands were making feel uncomfortably hot… His pride was demanding him to stay strong, his body was betraying his thoughts of resistance…

Cursing his body _and_ pride, Rei cried out in a hoarse moan: "Help me… please…"

Yuri maliciously smirked and shrugged, "why would I want to end this entertainment, _Rei_?" After hearing Rei gasp again, the Russian phantom snapped his fingers, causing the corpse hands to vanish instantly. Once he felt the gusty vanishing of hands, the Chinese spirit scrambled into a sitting position, away from the spot he was just violated. Rei glanced at the floor to assure the hands' disappearance before glaring at Yuri's malevolent smile.

Yuri darkly chuckled as Rei rushed over to him, seeing the need to cause the Russian harm; fortunately for Yuri, if that was the case, he placed a thin barrier between himself and the angered raven-haired spirit who was pounding on the barrier. "You cannot be upset at me for saving you from your near orgasm…"

Rei stopped beating on the barrier and slowly dropped his arms to his sides, clutching his hands into fists. He refused to look at Yuri's cold blue eyes, yet he did not turn his back to him. "I hate you…" he whispered.

"That, I will take as a compliment from you," Yuri tapped on the barrier, not caring if he got Rei's attention. He continued, "I will collect payment from you in trade for saving you… and it will be your decision if you surrender yourself to pain or pleasure." Yuri chuckled wickedly, walking out of the room-

He was somewhat taken by surprise when a pair of hands grabbed the front of his uniform and slammed his back against the wall. Before scowling at the fool who dared to touch him, Yuri changed his attitude into a light smile when gazing into furious garnet orbs. /Well, good evening Kai. How was the Yard?/

/What did you do to him?/ demanded Kai in a chilling calm voice.

Yuri placed his hands over Kai's, trying to push them off. Finding out that Kai was not going to release his grip, the red-haired Russian shrugged. /I was merely informing our captive that he has other tenants in the Abbey-/ His head slammed against the wall, making Yuri becoming annoyed with Kai's unnecessary actions.

/I gave you no such permission-/

/But you did mention _I_ could have a night with him,/ Yuri glared at Kai and violently and successfully swapping Kai's hands away, /he may be under your Soul Contract, but he is now part of the Abbey, which means free for all. You are beginning to look weak, _Kai_.../ Yuri vanished before Kai had a chance to slam him against the wall once more. The only Russian phantom in the area formed a fist and resisted hitting the stone wall. He glanced at the entryway to the room, destroying the very idea of checking on the psychic, and disappeared as well.

Rei, on the other hand, wished he could vanish from this place. He allowed himself to float in the middle of room, evenly creating distance away from the walls, floor and ceiling. He refused to shed a tear after what he had been through, but could not shake the nasty feeling of being that uncomfortable hot. What made him more furious than anything was that Yuri took pleasure in watching him…

Laying down on his back, Rei closed his eyes, picturing the warmth of his homeland and of being surrounded by family and friends. He crossed his arms over his middle, subconsciously protecting himself from _that_ happening again, and started to deeply inhale and exhale to calm himself. He may be imprisoned in the Abbey for a short while, but he was still in control of his spirit.

…

Kai knew something was amiss as soon as he appeared outside during the ending of the Witching Hour. He found Bryan in a foul mood, hearing his associate cursing in their Russian tongue under his breath. The garnet-eyed Russian gazed across the Yard, glowering at what he was witnessing; there was no piercing screams, no vengeful howls, no pathetic crying. Only soft moaning… "How long has this been happening?"

The other specter lifted his chin towards the Yard and replied, "they have been quiet for the past ten minutes," not taking his eyes off the quietness of the lost souls, "that Chinese boy has something to do with this phenomenon."

Kai narrowed his eyes at the suggestion, "That cannot be."

Bryan lifted an eyebrow in annoyance, glancing at the other specter, "what other explanation is there, Kai? The boy is causing _this_ to happen-" He stopped as soon as he felt a gust of air for a second; the bluenet Russian took his immediate leave. The lilac-eyed poltergeist released his annoyance by sending a powerful gust of wind across the Yard, getting a louder moaning response from the lost souls.

Meanwhile, Rei was in a relaxing state, still focusing on the details that made up his home-

When he was roughly grabbed by the neck and was staring into livid garnet orbs. Rei grasped onto the hand, trying hard to force the Russian to release him. Kai, on the other hand, ignored Rei's attempt. /What were you doing?/

The Chinese spirit shook his head in response. Kai released his grip, scowling at Rei while the latter coughed and tried to catch his breath. "What were you doing?" he repeated.

Rei covered his throat, but still glared up at his captor. "I wasn't doing anything!… I was just meditating-"

"Quit meditating then," commanded Kai, crossing his arms in a guarded position. "You are disturbing the Yard."

"The Yard? What is that?"

The Russian turned his head and cursed in his native language; he should not have mentioned the Yard. Turning around to leave, Kai said over his shoulder, "Forget it. Do not even try to investigate further into it. Cease meditating or I will force you too."

The other spirit inhaled sharply and stood up to stand his ground. "Kai!"

The mentioned phantom ceased walking and swiftly faced Rei with a dangerous gleam in his darkened eyes. /What did you call me?/

Rei could not stop his tiny smirk from showing, but continued talking: "So you are the infamous Kai Hiwatari," after confirming that fact, Rei became angry. "Why can't you tell me about the Yard and why do you want me to stop meditating? What else am I suppose to do under the strict orders of not leaving the room!"

Kai widened his eyes, fuming in his expression. "You want answers to your questions, so be it." He disappeared from sight, leaving Rei alone. Before the Chinese spirit could do anything, he felt a strong grip on his bicep and a jerk-

Instantly, he was outside on the roof of the Abbey. He gasped at the sudden change of scenery and looked across the darkened sky. He glanced down and tried to step back from the terror he was witnessing below him, but Kai would not let him; there were hundreds, perhaps thousands, of lost souls, having the appearances rotting corpses and skeletons with barely any flesh on them. All of them were groaning and screaming, clawing on top of one another, trying to go towards the Abbey. "Oh my God…" Rei whispered, terrified at the scene unfolding.

Bryan, who was out of Rei's view, looked up at the tremendous power at top of the Abbey. He recognized Kai's darkness, but the brightness of the other presence made him angry. 'So it is the medium,' confirmed the lilac-eyed specter.

Kai kept a mental reminder of the lost souls' sudden attraction of going _towards_ the Abbey when he appeared with the Chinese medium. He glanced at Rei, inwardly smirking at the other spirit's reaction to his collection of lost souls. Jerking his grip on Rei forward, Kai cruelly whispered: "_This_ is the Yard. Horrifying, are they not? Once you die here, you become a part of _them_," still enjoying the fear in Rei's eyes, he continued. "If your friends do not return in the two month's time with the key pertaining to my freedom, I promise you that they _will_ be part of the Yard."

Rei snapped his head to Kai, and not caring about Kai's grip, and grabbed Kai's other arm, pleading, "I don't care if you keep my soul here, but spare them-"

"This is not negotiable!" The Russian pulled Rei close, closing the distance between them. "Not only do you not have a choice, but they no longer have one as well. Once again, I gain something and you lose." When Rei peered down at the Yard's victims, Kai became curious at the mercy gleaming in the medium's golden eyes; 'Does he _pity_ these pathetic souls?' he thought. The Russian phantom glance down at Rei's ankle, noticing the green shackle's fading glow. He shook the Chinese spirit to make him focus back into his red eyes.

"Fortunately for you, your time has come to an end for tonight. Remember my warning and remind your friends of their deadline." Once he released Rei, the latter disappeared, taking the ghostly shackle with him, but leaving a part of his soul behind. Rei's piece of greenish-colored soul turned into an off-white color and floated above Kai's hand. Kai peered into what little soul he had of the medium's and raised an eyebrow of curiosity; what part of Rei did he surrender to him?

* * *

Authoress' Note: A terrible cliffhanger, forgive me, but I hope the next chapter will be worth the wait. Thank you again for your patience, reviews (both praise and critical) and alerts. I hope you are all pleased with this chapter; I try to give my best to you all. Also, forgive me for any minor grammatical errors.


	6. I'm Fine

Authoress' Notes: You have my deepest apologies for being EXTREMELY late with this chapter! After reading this fic from the beginning, that was indeed a TERRIBLE cliffhanger. Feel free to glare at me, but spare the characters!

Disclaimer: See previous chapter(s).

Key: See previous chapters(s).

Warnings: Swearing, a brief disturbing, sexual scene, and horrific images

**Chapter Five: I'm fine**

The Chinese medium jolted awake, pushing himself into a sitting position, the movement slightly cooling his skin that had sweat beads. He panted heavily, placing a hand through his hair and letting it rest on the back of his neck. He glanced outside and realized that it was very early in the morning, enough to still be called dark. Rei fumbled the bed covers off to get some more cool air and gasped at the ghostly object on his ankle: the shackle from the Abbey. He could see his skin through the shackle, but its presence was not expected when Rei awoke.

He quickly covered his ankles and took several deep breaths before inspecting the shackle. Now that he was somewhat calm, his ankle felt _cold_… like Death has an iron grip on his soul. 'More like the Devil…' The youth shuddered at the thought of being so close to his end of his life, even though Kai promised him no harm. Yuri, on the other hand, made no such promise…

The golden-eyed teen inhaled slowly, trying to clear his mind of those _things_ touching him in areas that were _sensitive_. Rei peeked down and saw the shackle was still around his ankle; how far did Kai's power stretch? No ghost can possibly have that kind of reach, so how was this feasible? What if it was _not_ a ghost that they were dealing with? With that thought in mind, Rei slowly lifted the blankets more and stared at the phantasmal prison accessory. What if this thing never comes off? Or if it is capable of possessing anyone? Rei did NOT want to find out-

"Lee!... LEE!" called Rei, covering the ghostly thing with the blankets. After being in the Abbey for only a mere five hours, he was not looking forward to going back. He shivered from his experience and wrapped his arms around his frame, still trying to shake off that horrendous event that Yuri unfortunately witnessed-

"Rei! What happened?" Lee, followed by Tyson and Max, slammed the door against the wall. The older Chinese brother scanned around the room and around Rei for any signs of possession. The other two were ready to surround their friend, but Lee stopped them. Having his hands into an offensive-ready position, Lee asked in Chinese, /Who broke Father's urn?/

/Mariah broke Father's rice pot./ Rei looked into his brother's eyes, trying to mask the fear of Lee's finding out about the incident in the Abbey.

Lee dropped his hands and allowed the pair to advance Rei. Max sat on one side of the bed, while Tyson stood on the other side. The blond gathered Rei's hand and checked for any markings. "Are you alright? Did they hurt you?"

The bluenet looked at Rei's face, looking for any bruises or cuts. Instead, even in the dark with what little candle light was brought into the room, Tyson got a quick glimpse of terror in those golden orbs. 'What the hell happened to you, Rei?'

Rei smiled slightly and looked at Max, answering, "I'm fine, for the most part-"

"The hell you are, Rei!" Tyson did not shake his friend's shoulders, but instead clutched his hands into fists to keep his temper in check. He was not angry about Rei pretending to be okay; more pissed that those Russian bastards put fear into his friend's eyes. Lowering his voice to a normal volume, Tyson asked, "What happened, Rei?"

The Chinese medium cast his eyes to the floor, mentally debating on saying anything to anyone. He would definitely leave out his incident with Yuri and… their fate in the Yard if Rei does not free Kai Hiwartari…

Rei slightly shivered at the memory of Kai's anger towards Rei's curiosity about the Yard. The Yard-

Before Rei could say anything, Max stood and spoke up. "Tyson, Rei just woke up from a very real nightmare. Give him some time to calm down and let him come to us," the blond looked at his friend and smiled lightly, patting Rei's arm. "Right now, we're just happy that nothing terrible happened to you or that they hurt you… right?"

"They didn't hurt me. Not spiritually or physically for that matter."

Max nodded in relief, while Tyson fought the urge to roll his eyes. He knew that Rei was not telling the complete truth. They may not have hurt his friend, but something happened and Tyson had a feeling that he would not like it.

Lee, on the other hand, glared at the lie; after being close siblings for almost two decades of Rei's life, Lee could always tell when his younger brother was lying. He could understand the need to not make everyone worry about him, but worrying about a relative or a friend is part of caring for them. He decided to let it go, but confront Rei about the truth he was hiding. "Now that you are awake, you are at least safe from the Abbey."

"But not safe enough for me to rest or gain any spiritual strength," Rei said in sudden bitter tone.

The older brother frowned at the negativity. "That may be so, but I can have more wards placed around you—"

"Enough to stop me from being spirited away?"

Before Lee could raise his voice, Max spoke instead: "Whatever happened back there in the Abbey, you have to believe in Lee to keep you safe here. I believed in you that you would keep me safe from… him, and you did. You didn't get a full night's rest, but that doesn't mean you can snap on the people who care about you."

Rei inhaled sharply at the sudden change in tone and bowed his head in shame. Maybe it was the lack of sleep that was causing his bitterness… "I am very sorry Lee," smiling, Rei raised his head up and continued. "Only several hours of sleep are not enough me to recover, so please, would you set up strong wards during my rests throughout the day?"

"Or course I will, whether you asked me or not."

Tyson yawned and nodded, sleep dominating his annoyance. "Well since Lee's got the first shift of watching Rei, I'm going to get some more shut eye," he yawns, "wake me up for the third or fourth shift which should be around lunch time." The bluenet took his leave, ignoring the shaking of heads (Rei) and chuckles (Max). Tyson thought back of how many times Rei showed genuine fear: once when they were trying to save Max's life in Europe and this current situation. 'What were you scared of, Rei?' He left the Chinese siblings and Max alone, temporarily favoring his head to a pillow.

Max watched the Paranormal Breaker leader leave, then looked back at Rei and smiled, "and that's our fearless leader of the Breakers." He took a seat on the bed, next to Rei's knees.

The Chinese teen smiled and nodded in agreement. "He has his heart set in the right place."

"Yeah, lunch if I could guess," the blond teen placed his hand near Rei's calf. "Are you going to be alright?-"

Rei pulled his legs inward, avoiding Max's touch; he did not want to reveal his ghostly souvenir from the Abbey. However, Max felt a little hurt from the gesture and removed his hand from the bed. "I'll be fine, Max. I believe in my brother keeping me safe for the rest of the evening."

"Ok… if there's anything you need, please don't be afraid to ask."

The younger psychic slightly bowed his head sheepishly and asked, "may I have a glass of water?"

Blue eyes sparkled at the thought of being useful; Max nodded quickly and left the room. Lee smiled at Max's eagerness and was going to speak to Rei, when the blond poked his head in.

"I am allowed to go into the kitchen for water, correct?"

"Of course, Max. This temporary base is your home," answered Lee. He watched Max disappear again and spoke in Chinese to his brother, slightly glaring with disapproval: /Rei, you do not have to lie to me anymore./

Rei slightly turned his gaze away, trying to control his breathing. 'He does not need to find out what happened...' /What are you talking about-/

/About your _life_, Rei!/ Lee inhaled deeply, letting his kept breath out slowly; nevertheless, he kept his glare steady. /I did not want to alarm your friends, but I needed to speak with you privately. I saw your life energy while you were unconscious. What you are doing for your friends is costing your life. I taught you better-/

'He doesn't know about the Abbey,' The younger brother was a bit relieved, however the topic at hand was something that did not need to be discussed either. /They were going to die, Lee! What was I to do!/ Rei's eyes became slits, letting Lee be aware of his brother's aggravation. That did not stop Lee from returning the gesture.

/This is something that was done over time, Rei. Your Soul Contract with that cursed spirit is worsening your condition,/ Rei drew the covers to shoulders and attempted to roll over when Lee angrily grabbed the covers to force his brother from turning his back to him. His ankle exposed, the younger medium was afraid for what Lee discovered, but Lee kept talking. /You will show your older brother respect, Rei Kon. Do not turn your back on help./

'He doesn't see it?' Rei glanced between Lee and the prison accessory on his ankle. The other sighed and placed the blankets back on the bed, even adjusting the bottom corners near Rei's ankles. /Rei, I am just so worried about you. You are too young to leave this world. I do not know what Mariah and I would do if we ever lost you,/ Lee took a knee beside the bed, placing a hand on Rei's. /Little brother, I am very frightened for your dim future./

Max, who stood near the door, heard his friends argue; it did not matter the language, but the tone Max could recognize as a heated discussion. When their voices' volumes got quieter, the blond chose this time to enter the room. "Sorry it took long," the American teen smiled and handed the cup of water.

Upon Max's arrival, Lee stood and nodded his head once to his brother. "I will prepare a few more blessed talismans." He headed towards the door and turned his head slightly, speaking to Rei: /do not endanger your life, little brother./ Max had a confused look on his features, understanding that Lee had the final word in the argument.

Rei, on the other hand, bowed his head after taking a sip of cool water, frowning at his thoughts: 'Lee didn't see it… nor did he sense it. Is it possible that my soul is complete?' He scrunched his nose in dismay. 'No, Kai would not make it easier for me-'

"Rei," The mentioned teen snapped out of his thoughts to look at his friend's worried eyes. "I know you said not to worry, but you seemed shaken about something. Wanna talk about it?" He waited patiently for Rei to answer, taking a seat by Rei's side. "You gave me the chance to talk when I was comfortable; I'll return the favor to you."

The other slightly smiled, masking the building fear in his core. 'I don't want them to worry about Kai's strength. They need the confidence to see this through.' "Thank you for being here, Max."

"What are friends for," The American teen looked out the window, folding his arms across his chest. "I wish it would hurry up and be daytime already. The dark is so cold…"

"I agree…" Rei lifted the top blanket and handed it to Max, who smiled in appreciation. They both sat in silence, one contemplating on telling the truth and the other repressing the urge to ask for the truth. "Max?'

"Mmm?" Blue eyes did a side-glance to his friend before returning his vision to the window; his attention was peaked however.

"Lee knows…"

"About…?" Max faced Rei, wanting his friend to continue.

"What only you know."

"What?- oh. That's what the argument was about."

Golden eyes widened at the thought of his teammate''s language skills. "You understood what he was saying?"

Max laughed and waved it off. "No, no! I was by the door and I heard the argument tones. I'm sorry for kinda eavesdropping," he paused before continuing. "I would have to agree with Lee."

The medium slightly glowered his eyes in disbelief. "You don't know what he said-"

"But I recognize concern in a person's face and their tone of voice. Rei, we're all worried about you. You're selfless when it comes to your friends, and we appreciate you looking out for us. But we also don't wanna lose you _because_ you were selfless."

"You want me to be a jerk instead?" Rei felt his eyes slit in annoyance once more.

"I'm not saying that, Rei Kon," Max slightly glared at his friend's change in attitude. He stood, tossing the blanket onto Rei. "It's painful knowing that you are sacrificing yourself to that God-awful Abbey at night. It's scary, I know, but you have to believe in us to protect you. We may not have the ability to be psychics, but damn it all, we'll try our best."

"What if your best isn't good enough?-"

"Then we try _harder_… I'm going to bed," Max headed towards the door, shaking his head disheartenedly. "Have some faith in your friends, Rei."

When Max shut the door behind him, Rei scowled at the last phrase and widened his eyes in surprise. 'I do have faith in them...so why was I being unkind to him?' The teen leaned against the wall and huffed. "What happened to me at the Abbey?" Unfortunately, he had to think back to recent events, wondering what could have changed his character. His memory jogged through the night, remembering Kai forming part of his soul into a shackle, Yuri's twisted game, the Yard… Rei shivered subconsciously, using the memories as reasons to stay awake for the remainder of the night.

'What happened to me?'

...

Kai Hiwatari floated at the base level of the Abbey, facing the Yard. With dawn approaching, all ghosts and ghouls return to their graves; one definite exception, at least, was Kai. The Russian phantom glared at the sun's peering rays and then looked down at the hovering bright orb in his palm.

"Compassion," he murmured, studying the piece of Rei's soul that he confiscated. The ghost did not know if it was luck that held possession of that part of Rei's soul or if the medium willed it so. Either way, this piece was the key to undoing the Yard's misery. And with that knowledge, Kai became extremely crossed. If Rei's compassion spread throughout the entire Yard, it could mean grave consequences.

"Is that what caused the Yard's behavior?" Kai glanced at his ghostly associate who glared at the white orb. Bryan nodded his head towards the light for reference.

"More or less," shrugged Kai, answering in Russian, seemingly keeping his inner frustrations under control. "It is not something we should be concerned about-"

"But it is something that has potential to make us concerned," Yuri floated beside his fiendish comrades. He crossed his arms at chest level and studied the orb as well. "Something so small could have caused an uprising-"

"There has never been and never will be such a rebellion at the Abbey," Bryan sneered. "Those souls only understand melancholy and agony. They do not have the mindset to oppose us."

"That is... until Rei graced us with his presence," Yuri focused on the small fragment in Kai's hand.

Kai glared at Yuri's brief reactions to Rei's soul and allowed it to vanish from sight. "'Grace' is not a word that should be used. He and his friends are troublesome pests that need to be disposed."

The lavender-eyed specter smirked diabolically. "We are to torture them after we have been released, correct?"

"Of course. I did not promise them amnesty after the deal has been completed."

Bryan chuckled maniacally and faded away from his associates. Yuri and Kai both retreated inside the Abbey, away from sunlight. They appeared on the staircase facing the Abbey's foyer.

"Where is Sergei?" asked Kai.

"He is keeping himself occupied with a petite blond. I think he has some dire _needs_ that had to be addressed," Yuri smirked, letting his eyes linger on the ceiling.

The other phantom rolled his eyes and glared at Yuri. "As long as it does not interfere with our plans, then I do not care-"

"What _are_ our plans, Kai? Wander around the Abbey until the Devil himself comes to collect us? We do have nothing but time to wait." The red-haired ghost continued to speak, smirking at the developing tick in Kai's garnet eyes.

"You _do_ know what our plans are, Yuri, so do not cause me to repeat myself to the likes of you."

"With that tone, I wonder if I could convince the others of mutiny."

Kai looked at his associate with dark rage. "Do so, I do not mind handing your souls over to the Devil _myself_."

Yuri glared in return and then shrugged off the threat. "I hardly doubt I can catch the infamous Kai Hiwatari off his guard," he started to walk off, fading into thin air. "But when you do lower your defenses, you will know I am behind it all." Laughing as though it was a mere joke amongst friends, Yuri disappeared. His laughter echoed into silence, leaving a crossed Kai standing in the hallway. To further irritate him, Kai forbade the thought of the Chinese medium being the reason to slightly lower his guard.

"Damn medium…" The lonely poltergeist shook head in annoyance. Rei, though young in age, was certainly different from other psychics or priests that have ventured into the Abbey. For one, the Soul Contract has not devoured Rei from the inside out, even in this special circumstance. A priest tried such a thing and was consumed by flames. Kai clenched his jaw at the memory of Rei's eyes.

_Rei feared for his friends' lives, but his pride continued to push Kai. "Why are you so sure that I will free you?"_

_"Because you value your friends more so than your own life," Kai faced Rei completely, ignoring the activities downstairs. It irked him that Sergei was using ghouls to accomplish a simple task, but it worked in Kai's favor. "Are you willing to enter a Soul Contract with me?"_

_"I do not have the tools to conduct that ritual-"_

_"I have the knowledge of another way," he smirked at Rei's gasp. He deliberately took slow steps towards Rei before circling him like he did before. "My way could kill you or put you into a state of comatose -"_

_Kai did not expect Rei to turn his head with his being so close to the medium. Garnet eyes peered into golden ones filled with something he could not identify. "Do it. If you swear not to harm them, I'll do it."_

_"Are you this rash when it comes to your friends?"_

_"_Especially_, now what do I have to do?" His eyes never blinked, only illuminating something more than determination-_

_Kai frowned, not caring about Rei's foolhardiness. "You do not have to do much. Just take the pain." Without any warning, Kai jammed his hand into Rei's chest, causing the Chinese boy to want to scream in agony. His breath was stilled, but he still existed. The pain was so much that it later blocked his memory from the experience. Before Rei succumbed to the pain, he clamped onto Kai's forearm._

_"You swear?" Rei's grip released immediately, falling to his sides. Kai had to hold onto Rei before the medium's spirit could go anywhere. The Russian was impressed with Rei's condition; the boy has a slim chance of surviving the Soul Contract. However, Kai was confused at Rei's actions… and he did not like confusion for confusion could leave one vulnerable-_

_"Whatever." He then spoke in another language that Rei would not have recognized, sealing the Contract._

Kai had yet to identify that… gleam in Rei's eyes when they were discussing the Soul Contract. He decided to ignore the memory, but cannot avoid those golden eyes shining with… something...

...

Meanwhile, Sergei just released his seed into a petite blond, snapping his fourth victim's neck in the climax, if one could call it that. His eyes and member still held the lust that he yearned for Max, yet these ghosts could not satisfy him. Perhaps it was the curse of haunting in the Abbey, never knowing satisfaction… or perhaps it was mere thought of not possessing the blond boy. Whatever the case, the Russian poltergeist demanded pleasure. Perhaps finding a blond male ghoul may curb his desire, at least until Max visits him again. But for two months time to pass until he sees his blond mouse again... such insufferable agony! He stomped his second victim hard enough to step through her back; had she been alive, death was inevitable. She screamed in agony, clawing at the ground and breaking her remaining fingernails in the process.

Sergei looked down at her back and picked his foot up as though he stepped in trash. He glared menacingly, "you dirtied my boot. Lick it clean."

The girl, still screaming, managed to drag her corpse around. She lowered her screams to whimpers, licking her own blood off Sergei's boot. In some distorted fantasy, the Russian imagined Max being the one to lick his boot and work his way up…

Using only his hand in place of Max's month, Sergei groaned into the act of releasing his seed again. "I will… come and find… you again… my beautiful mouse…"

* * *

The night sky slowly faded away from the temporary base of the Paranormal Breakers. Rei sat on the stoop, rubbing his eyes to stay awake; having five hours of sleep really did hinder his spiritual recovery. He sighed and focused onto the horizon, trying to forget that night's events. As the morning light headed towards the house, Rei placed his foot in the sun's path, accepting the warmth that soaked through his clothes. He inhaled and exhaled deeply, then squinted at the brightness of a new day. After adjusting his eyes, the Chinese youth leaned his back on the stairs, whispering, "Another day of light..."

A flash of another memory of the Yard caused Rei to inhale sharply. All those thousands of souls, forever imprisoned in the darkness of the Abbey. Rei subconsciously folded his arms across his middle. He feared for his friends, remembering Kai's threat. The Yard is something that should not be mentioned, but Rei felt... that he should do something. But that feeling was not as strong to match the need or want of helping those souls free. Throughout the rest of night-turned-morning, the same question popped up: what was missing?

"Rei!" called a voice, making Rei lean his head back to the entryway to see the owner of the voice. Kenny came at a hurried pace, holding his laptop close to his chest.

"Well good morning, Chief," Rei smiled, turning his head and following Kenny's seating next to him. He chuckled lightly at his friend's disheveled hair. "What are you doing up so early in the morning?"

Opening his laptop, Kenny glanced at the coming sun, paused and murmured: "So it is morning..." He shook his head and began to restart his laptop. "I didn't sleep at all last night. I was doing some digging."

Rei widened his eyes at the statement. "You didn't go to sleep!"

"I was- AM- onto something!" As he was staring into the bright monitor, the auburn-haired teen sat down and adjusted his glasses. "I think I found a paper trail that could help trace Kai's descendant."

"Really? That's great news, Chief!" Rei turned his body towards the other Breaker, fully awake to hopefully hear good news. The medium knew that even if they discovered a descendant, Rei will not perform the switching of souls; he would rather place his own life at stake. He did not know what he would do once they found the descendant, but what Kenny found is a good start. "How did you come across it?"

"It was difficult to find e-documents dating back to the nineteen-hundreds after Voltaire's death, but I managed to find discrepancies, so I followed that lead. Apparently, there was an update recently in the Russian system a week ago and Voltaire's death certificate dated nineteen-fifteen, so his death is no longer a mystery. The cause of death was a heart attack-"

"Wait, how did you find what was wrong so late at night?"

Kenny ducked his head down and mumbled, "I asked for a favor from someone I know to get that information in a way the government won't know-"

"Chief! I thought it was illegal to do that! Does Mr. Dickenson know?"

"He's the one that suggested it! I called him earlier and told him what I found. Mr. Dickenson said he agreed with me, saying that something didn't add up, so he asked if I could call in a favor on our behalf. Apparently, not all Russian documents haven't been tainted and we haven't necessarily checked documents _outside_ of Russia. But never mind how I got the information, just know that I got it!" The younger teen started typing, bringing up evidence of his findings. "It was hard to find, but with extra digging and some great computer geniuses, we were able to located him!"

Rei leaned over, amazed at the notes and several pages popping up on the screen. "Kai's descendant is male?"

Kenny nodded and double-clicked on the mouse pad, hands processing on the keyboard. "Yes! I found some different things about the Hiwatari family, like how they donate to children's hospitals or fund scholarships. Basically, anything children-related, they finance."

"Do you think it's related to the Abbey?"

The younger teen slowed his typing to a brief pause. "I didn't dig into all of the financial records of each charity or whatever, but I wasn't looking for that in particular. I hope for the children's sake, the Hiwatari's aren't funding the Abbey. But didn't Vadim say that they stopped funding it in the nineties?"

Rei scrunched his eyes in dismay and widened his eyes in realization: "I think Vadim said the Russian government stopped funding it, not necessarily the family." The two looked at each other with slight worry. Kenny shook his head and continued pulling up files.

"That damn Abbey hasn't received any funding; even before we escape, I noticed that it hasn't received any care. But no matter, we have time to look in the finances later."

The Chinese medium sighed and leaned back, ignoring his mind's urgency to tell his friends about Kai's deadline. Rei closed his eyes, reassuring himself that Kenny is a couple of steps closer to locating Kai's descendant. He needed to focus on resting and preparing himself for another night of the Abbey-

"Rei!"

The named teen jolted into a sitting position, looking at Kenny with wide eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I was trying to get your attention and you didn't answer me. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Rei grumbled, "I wish all of you would stop asking me that."

Kenny frowned and focused back on the laptop. "Well, if you stop lying to us about your being 'fine,' we wouldn't have to keep asking that."

Rei rolled his head back and exhaled loudly. "I'm sorry, Chief. It's this lack of sleep."

"Then go take a nap."

"You know I can't because I would be back at the Abbey."

The auburn-haired youth paused in typing, adjusting his glasses. "Wouldn't it be daytime over there anyway? You said so yourself that ghosts don't really haunt in the daytime."

The idea took Rei by surprise; daylight is not an ideal haunting time for ghosts. He felt more awake, his confidence building. Kenny may have discovered a loophole in the Soul Contract and Rei may actually get a decent "night's" rest! Not only that, he could explore the Abbey and find out more about how the Russian phantoms' lived and died. One concern was even though the sun may be shining, Kai's powers may not be limited. At this point, Rei was willing to try anything out.

Rei wrapped an arm around the techy teen and hugged him. "Chief, you are a genius!"

The other smiled a little, blushing at the compliment. "W-well, you're the one that said it first; I just happen to have a good memory."

The raven-haired youth released his friend and stood. "You have no idea how relieved I am right now-"

"NO WAY!"

Rei looked down at Kenny's monitor, not understanding the panic. "What's wrong, Kenny?"

"I think I've come up with a dead end," groaned Kenny, falling flat on his back and letting his knees balance the laptop. "I was so close to pinpointing where he was!"

"But he exists, that's still great news!"

"I guess," the younger teen clicked on an open window, which brought up a map with plenty of red digital pins. He pointed to it, continuing: "I lost him in Europe…"

"You still did a great job, Chief! What would we have done without you?"

"Panic, I guess…" Kenny completely sat up, still groaning in defeat. "I guess I'll notify Mr. Dickenson about my findings and we can go from there-"

"Go from what?"

Both teens turned to Max, who was rubbing his eyes and yawning. "What happened?"

"What are you doing up so early, Max?"asked Kenny.

"I couldn't stay asleep," Max glanced at Rei, who made eye contact and cast his eyes downwards. "Anyway, what's going on?"

"I found out where we need to go to locate Kai's descendant. Somewhere in Europe, we'll find the last remaining Hiwatari relative."

Max woke up a little bit more, becoming excited and temporarily forgetting his and Rei's disagreement. "That's fantastic news, Chief! You're really on the ball! And you had enough time to sleep too! You're really good!"

"Well… I, uh… didn't go to sleep yet-"

"What! Kenny, you-!"

"I know, I know! But I got to tell Mr. Dickenson and see what he suggests-"

"What about Mr. D?!" All three Breakers were wide-eyed at the sight of Tyson holding a stack of pancakes and fork in mouth. He took another bite and finished his statement after swallowing: "Old Man Fa knows how to cook."

"How are you… awake?" questioned Kenny, ignoring his glasses slipping from his nose.

"I smelt a big breakfast." Max laughed, while the other two let out an exasperated sigh. Tyson shrugged his shoulders and kept on eating his breakfast. "So, whaf's hap-in'?"

"Well, since everyone's here, I'll summarize what I found. There's only one descendant of Kai's that's alive, somewhere in Europe. He's actually the head of several organizations that donates to children or whatever children-related-"

"What's this dude's name?"

"Walter Something-something-King."

Max raised an eyebrow at the answer. "You found a man named Walter Something King?"

"I can't pronounce it because it's in Polish. I read what I could in the translated text… Fur Veal? Four- The point is I think we need to head to Europe to find this guy."

"Do you think we can stay in France until we have a better lead?" asked Max, clutching his fists in excitement. "I loved working over there! Plus, that castle still has some places to explore!"

"I don't see why not," spoke Tyson, taking his second-to-last bite. "Plus we can ask Robert and his crew about the Russian bastards and see if there's a way to keep them from harming Rei while he's fulfilling the Contract-thingy."

Rei smiled a little and nodded. "Thank you, Tyson."

"Anytime, Rei! We gotta look out for one another, no matter how long this thing takes!"

The Chinese youth sighed and plopped down on the steps again. "About that…" The other Breakers looked over at Rei with slight worry.

"Don't tell me that asshole gave us a fucking time limit?" cursed Tyson, forgetting about the last bite.

"Kai said we have two months to figure out how to release them-"

"Two months!" The youngest Breaker had to catch his laptop from toppling over his knees. "That's not enough time to track through Europe to find his damn descendant! Even if we did manage to find him, what are we suppose to do? Ruin this guy's life so he can switch places or whatever? There's not a definite way of releasing them, not yet anyway."

The blond teen glared at Kai's demands: "There has to be another way besides confronting his descendant. Rei, is there another way of meeting Kai's demands without his family?"

"... I could sacrifice my life and-"

Arguments and yelling covered the rest of Rei's solution. He hung his head as though the arguments were weighing his shoulders down. Rei knew they would not like the answer, but what choice do they have? He could not ever tell them of their own endangerment if they do not free Kai. Rei narrowed his eyes in determination: he knew he was not going to risk Kai's distant relative and he also knew that his life only had one more decade before passing on. Before he could silence them, someone else joined the loud group.

"Why are there angry voices on this peaceful morning?" asked Lee, glaring at the Breakers. "I know you all have considered this as a temporary base, but you do not have to yell, especially when there are neighbors nearby," everyone avoided Lee's gaze, letting his words settle the arguments. "Now, one at a time, explain why yelling was necessary."

"Your brother is talking about killing himself to free that fucking Russian douche," complained Tyson, not one to tiptoe on serious matters.

Rei slightly glared at the bluenet and had a pleading look in golden eyes. "Lee, I didn't say kill myself-"

/But it is equivalent to suicide, is it not?/ The older Chinese medium narrowed his eyes into slits. "You will not even think about pursuing that foolish idea. We will find another way about this. For now, we need to find this Russian's relative."

"Are we really going to have to sacrifice someone who doesn't know anything about this?" asked Max, hoping Lee would say right response.

"I do not want to, but I am sure in some way he will be a portion of the answer. At the very least, a drop of blood may be needed. I have some favors that need to be fulfilled and Mariah may know a trick or two about exorcisms, if anything. Do not lose hope, Rei, and do not give up on yourself."

The golden-eyed medium rolled his eyes and walked back into the house, resisting the urge to shove his shoulder into his brother. Lee growled at his brother's sudden rude behavior; it did not go unnoticed. "What is wrong with Rei lately?" asked Kenny, shutting down his laptop.

"He didn't get enough sleep," suggested Tyson, not familiar with this side of Rei.

"He's been surly ever since he woke up several hours ago," confesses Max. "We kinda had an argument and it seemed like he didn't care."

"Rei was being coarse to me too," said Kenny, shutting his monitor a little harder than necessary. "I've never seen him act like this."

"He hasn't been rude to me," Tyson replied, holding his chin in his fist. Then he placed his hand behind his head, saying, "I haven't really been around Rei much since I was sleeping."

Lee raised an eyebrow at Kenny's and Max's testimonies. "My brother normally does not behave like this, even with lack of sleep. With only two hours of sleep, he still manages to smile and still be kind to others." Lee pondered about last night's events versus the early morning. 'Rei went to the Abbey for a little over five hours and woke up. He is not possessed… what could we be missing?'

"Well, I reminded Rei to maybe take a nap during the day since ghosts… don't usually haunt during daylight hours," the techy teen took off his glasses and wiped his eyes. "I hope Rei snaps out of it… If he's going to be that mean at the Abbey…" Kenny started leaning back, placing his glasses on top of his closed computer. "I don't think Kai would appreciate… the attitude…"

Forgetting about Rei's attitude change, Max held a chuckle and waved at Tyson to look at their fast-asleep friend. The bluenet laughed softly and gently picked up Kenny's computer and glasses. He handed them to Max and slightly shook Kenny awake for a brief second. "Chief, climb on my back and I'll put you in a comfortable bed."

"Mm-kay…" like a toddler, Kenny lazily climbed onto Tyson's back and went back to sleep, knowing he was safe and sound. The Breaker leader nodded to Lee and went back inside, trying not to bump Kenny's limbs into objects. Max smiled after Tyson and looked back at Rei's brother.

"Lee, if you don't mind waiting for me, I wanna talk to you about Rei."

The other was slightly taken back by the request but nodded. "Of course."

"Be right back."

Once he entered his room, Rei sat on the edge of his bed. No matter how much his body demanded him to go back to sleep, he withstand the urge to rest his head on the soft pillow. After remembering what could have changed throughout the remaining night, Rei did not solve the problem of his recent attitude. He did know that Kai had something to do with this, but he couldn't put his finger on exactly how it was done. He felt the need to go apologize, but he was still anxious about that eerie shackle. When he was outside with the Breakers, he was felt uneasy about his ghastly accessory being exposed and his friends catching sight of it. Then Lee appeared and Rei felt more unnerved about his brother _not_ seeing it.

'I'm just going to go outside and tell them the truth. Maybe Lee might have an exact explanation,' thought Rei, pushing himself off the bed. He walked through the hallways, avoiding Tyson's room where the bluenet was talking on the phone. He paused at the last turn, seeing Max step outside. He hung back before stopping at the door.

After a few minutes, Max appeared outside and inhaled deeply. "Lee, there's something I need to say."

Lee waited for Max to gather his thoughts and was again surprised by the blond when Max got down to his knees and bowed. "I am so sorry for jeopardizing your brother's life."

"What? Please, get up, Max," Lee touched Max's shoulder and removed it when Max shook his head. He lifted his eyes up to Lee, tears almost brimming.

"No, our team depends on Rei to the point of endangering his life," Max sniffled, quickly wiping his eyes and returning to the humble position. "I knew about Rei's life slipping since the trip to Europe. He told me afterwards what had happened before I almost died. I am eternally grateful for what Rei did to save my life, but at the same time, I feel so guilty. I can never repay Rei's kindness and I begged for his forgiveness, but he just brushed it off and said he didn't want my apology. I'm asking you for Rei's behalf, to forgive me… to forgive his teammates-"

"Max," the mentioned teen felt Lee's hand again on his shoulder and looked up, noticing that Lee was sitting in front of him. "Please, get off your knees and sit beside me." He waited as Max cleared his eyes again and followed Lee's request on the stair.

"Rei… is so special to all of us. I love him so dearly as my brother and obviously, you love him the same as I do. For me to accept an apology on Rei's behalf would be insulting because there is no need to apologize. He did not want to lose someone so precious, so I understand why he did that ritual."

"But if we hadn't gotten into so much trouble, we wouldn't have to ask Rei for help-"

"And if you had not asked him, you all would have died. Rei treasures life, and I support whatever tough decision he had to make. I just want him to be aware of the repercussions and to be sure that all other options were exhausted." They sat in silence for a little while, not knowing about Rei's silent tears inside. "Do the others know?"

"I don't think Kenny or Tyson knows. To be honest, I don't even know if Mr. Dickenson knows. If he did, I'm sure he would have pulled Rei from our team. Tyson would be furious if he found out that we were hiding something so critical."

"He's right, Rei," The younger Chinese psychic snapped his head around to the Breaker leader who wore a scowl across his face. "Can I talk to you?"

Knowing he was caught, Rei followed Tyson to the bluenet's room. He allowed Rei to go in first and then shut the door behind himself. "I don't even know where to begin, Rei-"

"Tyson, I didn't want you to worry-"

"A little bit late for that, Rei!" He had to lower his voice after mentally reminding himself that Kenny was asleep next door. "I appreciate everything you do for the Paranormal Breakers, really, but I also don't want you to be so reckless with your life!"

"Tyson, I'm fine-"

"I swear, if I hear you say 'I'm fine' again, it'll be the last thing…" The bluenet unclenched his fists and took off his baseball cap. He ran his fingers through his messy hair, tossing the cap onto the bed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to start saying that. Rei, I know you're tired of hearing your family being worried about you, but how many times do we have to say it before it actually gets _through_ you?"

"Don't you understand that I'm willing to risk my life to save yours!" Rei raised his voice, but not to consider it as yelling.

"Why can't we do the same for you!"

The Chinese medium hesitated in retorting, afraid that something cruel might be said. Tyson took this hesitation as his advantage: "Rei, I know we don't have awesome psychic powers like you do, so we don't know the toll it takes on you. We don't wanna depend on you using your life to bail us out-"

"What else am I suppose to do, watch you all perish at the Abbey?"

"Maybe," Rei was taken by the bluenet's response. Tyson continued: "I'm grateful for you saving us, but I'm also pissed that it's literally costing you your life. And the worse part: there's nothing I can do to help you. So please, let us do all that we can do now before… we're forced to say goodbye… please…"

Rei cast his eyes on the floor, avoiding eye contact. "I'm sorry, Tyson. And please, do not be upset with Max. I made him promise me not to tell you- what's so funny?"

The other was chuckling which turned into small laughter. He picked up his cap and placed it backwards like he always had. "You… I'm fussing at you and you're worried about Max getting into trouble with me. You're so selfless, Rei, even when things go bad. We love ya, man, and we don't want to lose you." He walked over to briefly embrace Rei. The older teen was surprised at the very short lecture and gesture, but returned the hug. 'Now I really have to tell them what's going on.' They released each other and smiled.

"Is everything okay in there?" asked Max on the opposite side of the door.

"We're fine," replied Tyson, lightly punching Rei's shoulder. He opened the door and smiled at Max's and Lee's concerned faces. "I think everyone will be ok now," he turned to Rei for agreement. "Right, Rei?"

"R-right. Guys, I am really, really sorry for being a jerk. I need to ta-"

"That's right, you need to take a nap," interrupted Lee, moving out of the way for the two in the room. "Unless you want to eat breakfast first?"

"No thank you, brother, I'll eat when I get up," answered Rei, but thinking, 'I'll tell them after my nap. We'll see how this goes first off and then worry about the rest later.' "Do you think it'll be safe to nap?"

"It will be safer than sleeping at night. Your internal clock will be confused, but it can adjust. Did the wards help?"

"I'd like to think so. I would still feel better if you put them around the bed again, please."

"Whatever you need me to do, little brother." Lee nodded once and left their presence.

Rei turned his attention to Tyson and Max. "What will you two do?"

"I'm going to eat if Tyson didn't eat all the pancakes," the blond side-glared at his crush. "And I think afterwards, we're going to make a phone call to Mr. Dickenson about what Kenny found. Hopefully the Chief won't get mad at us if we report to the P.E.E.A. on his behalf."

"He'll probably speak to Mr. D when he wakes up anyway. You know how he is," replied the Breaker leader. He clamped a hand on Rei's shoulder, lightly shoving him down the hallway. "You, on the other hand, we'll fill in later. You have to gain your strength back."

Rei nodded once and shared a small smile. "That is very much needed. While I'm over there, if situations favor me, I'll investigate what I can about the Abbey's inhabitants."

The blond raised an eyebrow with uneasiness gleaming in his cerulean eyes. "What are you going to do if you run into one of them?"

"If I do, I won't do anything rash to… upset them. I will try my best to avoid any of them at all cost-"

"You better."

"Well, Maxie," the bluenet removed his hand and placed his other arm around the younger Breaker. "I guess we'll let our good friend Rei go to bed and we'll go get some more chow!"

As they started walking off, Max complained: "is there any left?"

"I'm sure there'll be more… I hope."

The golden-eyed youth smiled at his friends, letting their words bring peace within himself. They were stern with him, but he knew better and reminded himself that they cared about his life, about him. He walked down the hallway and into his room where his older brother was praying over a lit ylang-ylang scented candle. When Lee was done, he acknowledged Rei's presence with a nod. The younger sibling removed his shirt and climbed into bed, sleep almost coming to him instantly. He still worried about the shackle on his ankle, but still his brother did not notice it. And that still bothered him more so...

/Lee, I'm sorry-/

/You do not need to apologize./

/Yes I do,/ Rei adjusted himself into a sitting position, looking at his brother with tired eyes. /I have been unkind to you especially. You have been nothing but supportive and compassionate.../ He paused, letting that statement soak. 'Compassionate… is that what-'

/Rei, no matter what happens or what you may do, I will still love you. This is an unusual predicament that we are dealing with, but nothing we cannot handle as brothers. And your teammates are there for you too. Have faith in us, little brother./

/I will,/ The younger sibling smiled and yawned, settling back into bed. /Thank you, Lee.../ With that, Rei fell quickly asleep. Lee gave a small smile to sleeping brother, covering him with the blanket. He placed a small kiss on Rei's forehead, saying a silent prayer.

/Please be safe, Rei./

…

The spirited-form of Rei woke up in the foyer of the haunted orphanage. His eyes adjusted to what light pierced through the Abbey's frosted windows and looked at his surroundings. He can see the light dust covering areas where the Paranormal Breakers once set up and unfortunately, where they were running for their lives. Before Rei could allow his anger to dwell in the past, he focused on the presented opportunity: finding more about Kai Hiwatari and his prisoners.

Meanwhile, as soon as the medium appeared on the Abbey's premises, Kai became alert; he recognized Rei's soul apart from the others. 'He finally considered sleeping in the daytime,' he slightly smirked with malicious intent, 'but that will not shield himself from me.' The Russian ghost remained in his location and closed his eyes, continuing to gather-

Rei climbed up the grand staircase a few steps and paused. He wanted to go back to the rooms where he and Max encountered Sergei, but he left them alone. He did a short hop and floated back to the bottom of the stairs. He glided into the hallway on the left of the Abbey, opposite of where Tyson and Kenny entered weeks ago. He followed the hallway, keeping note of the six doors-now, seven- he passed. The corridor turned right with less light further down. There was a dumbwaiter on his right and more doors on the left. In the back of his mind, if circumstances were completely different, Rei thought that this Abby would be interesting to explore. So many rooms to examine and this was only the first floor! As the light could no longer reach the end of the hallway, Rei relied on his soul to help provide illumination; though it is not life-threatening, it actually allows positive "energy" to shine.

'With this many doors, I wonder how many children lived here?' thought Rei, ignoring his curiosity of opening a couple of doors. After turning right again, he realized he was probably in the back of the Abbey… which is where the Yard was located. He ignored all the doors he come across once more-

Except these two. They were much larger than the doors he passed and they stood right across from one another. Rei knew the door to his left would lead outside- he had a strong feeling- and the other door was… dangerous. His soul _knew_ that that door should not be opened and he followed his instincts. Rei would remember to come back here later. Without Rei's knowledge, his ghastly warden still kept his attention on Rei's exploration. Kai refuse to admit that he was apprehensive about Rei being on the first floor. But, this medium chose the lesser worrisome of the two doors, heading directly into the Yard.

Kai was starting to get annoyed at Rei's wandering. He actually wanted to appear before the Chinese psychic and force him to stay inside. The Russian shook his head, suddenly ignoring Rei's presence. 'If he wants to venture into the Yard, he will not find anything but corpses'.

Golden eyes widened, taking in the lack of ghouls in the fields that stretched beyond his eyesight. He saw whispers of tortured souls, fading in and out as they were walking aimlessly around. He subconsciously sat on the top stoop, trying to compare this Yard's appearance to that horrifying one last time he was here. He remembered a few hordes of decaying flesh and bone, some completely transparent. They were clawing their way towards the Abbey; now, they rest or as good as rest can be. For the most part, not one lost soul noticed his presence.

Except for one small girl in rags. She was probably twenty yards away from him-

Rei jerked his upper body back after making eye contact with the little girl. There was no way to tell when or how she died. Her skeleton had few patches of rotten flesh, muscle torn away on her legs. An ankle was sticking out in a disturbing way, but she walked on as she did for decades: not caring. Her eyes, or lack of, were hollow and had hideous scarrings going into her molars, as though she was eating her own cheek. Rei has seen his fair share of the undead, but none quite like this… perhaps it was the age of the ghoul…

"Please be at peace-"

/Who are you?/ Her jaw dislocated as she spoke in Russian. She kept walking towards Rei, all her attention solely on him.

Rei slowly brought his hands out, having one palm faced up and another slightly angled facing her. He was not going to harm her and curiously enough, he felt like no harm would befall on him. In the back of his mind, he imagined that Kai would prevent anyone from harming the medium responsible for his freedom. The Chinese teen tried again with a smile: "Please, be at peace."

/There is no such thing,/ responded the girl. She halted in her painful walking, keeping a small distance of one yard. "There is no such thing," she repeated in a language he can understand, but still in her heavy accent.

"There is such a thing if you believe it," he stretched his hand further, letting compassion take action. "Would you like me to show you?"

The girl tilted her head, ignoring tearing tissue and her cracking spine. "What if you become like me?"

Rei gave her the most genuine smile, hands and arms indicating a warm welcome. "I'll be fine."

* * *

Authoress' Note: I have quite a bit of the next chapter typed up, so hopefully it will not take three more years to post -rim shot- Thank you so much for the fans that still believed in me, even after this long time had passed. You all are amazing! I will say this: next chapter is the reason why it's rated M.


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